e-mail
print
RSS
reprint
AIM
Digg it
del.icio.usLawyers rank Sedgwick County judge candidates
BY RON SYLVESTER
The Wichita Eagle
Justice is an adversarial process. There are two sides to every argument. One inevitably will lose.
The issues are critical: who goes to prison, the validity of business deals, when children will see their parents.
In Sedgwick County, voters elect judges, and they need information to decide who is qualified to make decisions that change lives. They also need to know how those in office do their jobs.
To help, The Eagle and the Wichita Bar Association asked local lawyers to rate their colleagues on the bench and those seeking seats this election year. A similar survey was conducted in 2006.
More than 300 lawyers participated this year.
Top marks went to David Kaufman, Joe Kisner, Robb Rumsey and Jeff Goering.
Those with the most room to improve: Rebecca Pilshaw, Dan Brooks and Warren Wilbert. They also drew challengers for their seats in upcoming elections.
The ratings also include the 20 lawyers running for judge.
Of 23 judges evaluated, 19 received average approval ratings of 76 percent.
That means even some lawyers who lost cases approved of the performance of the judge who ruled against them.