Judge It Yourself District Court Elections

   This article is another in a series focusing on the August Primary election races. Next issue will conclude with features on those running for State Representative, State Senator, Congress and County Commissioners. A complete list of all candidates and SUN endorsements will also appear next time.

   The winner of the August 6th Primary will go on to compete in the November election. We at the SUN urge people to vote in the Primary and again next November. The American political system is obviously in need of massive overhaul, but in the mean time the individuals in each of these positions directly affect the concrete activities of us all.

    Have you ever been to court on the 5th floor of Ann Arbor City Hall? Maybe for parking or traffic tickets? Or a weed bust, landlord/tenant hassles, even shoplifting, or stumbling drunk. If so, you've been formally introduced to the 15th District Court for the City of Ann Arbor.

    The District Court deals with city ordnance violations, low misdemeanors that carry less than a year in the County Jail, ' Civil Suits under $10,000, and Small Claims Court. District Court Judges also hold preliminary examinations to determine if there is enough evidence to bind someone over to Circuit Court in felony cases which carry a year of more penalty. For most people, first impressions of the court system are formed through contact with the local District Court; it has immediate and everyday effect on thousands of people's lives.

    District Court Judges try violations of City ordinances such as sign ordinances, parking ordinances, building ordinances, and of course the $5 weed ordinance. District Court Judges also try "low misdemeanors", raps like d&d (drunk and disorderly), shoplifting, and malicious destruction of property, which carry up to a year in the County Jail hole.

    In Small Claims Court, judges sit informally to hear civil suits of under $300. For example, if you wanted to sue your landlord, or if you paid someone to fix your car or paint your house and they didn't do it, you could sue them in Small Claims. The nice thing about Small claims is that you don't need to hire a lawyer. It's just you and the person you're sueing , before the Judge. You run your side of the story, your opponent runs their side, and in the wink of an eye the Judge pronounces who wins.

      Two Judges Up For Election

    In our next election we will be electing two judges to the 15th District Court. One of the seats up for grabs is presently held by S. J. Elden, the reactionary judge who voided Ann Arbor's first $5 weed law two years ago. He'll  be running against Don Koster and Peter Collins. The other seat is new, just created this year by the State  Legislature. Five candidates are running for this $33,000 a year judgeship. The runoff primary tor both seats will be August 6th, with the general election in November.

    The State Legislature determines how many judges there will be in a given district based on population and case load. However, the bankrupt City of AA has no money to pay the new judge, nor do they even have a courtroom, or an office, or money for a staff. Whoever wins will certainly be restricted in what they can do and  will be in tor some weirdness when they take office. District Court judges are powerful, they can turn people's lives around in a minute. They deal with more people than any of the other courts. They also have the power to change the whole way the court operates. In Detroit, for instance recorders Court Judge Chuck Ravitz does not display the American flag, or wear robes, he speaks people's language rather than the King's English. People don't have to stand when he enters the courtroom. He views and interprets the law through the eyes of the poor people who elected liim. Our District Court Judges have the same ability to change the court program.

    It's a sad tact, however, that few of the candidates running for the upcoming judge seats will even attempt to implement any really live programs to bring people's courts into being. None of the candidates are revolutionary, or even radicals, such as Ravitz. although all paint themselves as at least reformers. None of the present candidates will blow your mind and turn the court around. but we feel that two of the candidates have a significant history of practice and experience in Ann Arbor and warrant our support and endorsement,

          SUN Endorsement

    Don Koster and George Alexander get our nod for the District Court seats up for election. Don Koster is 36 years old and far and away the most progressive candidate in the race. Don has practiced law in Ann Arbor for the past 8 years. and has been involved in local progressive politics for al least that long. He was active in defending people who got busted during the '69 street fighting which erupted on South U after the City refused to allow the Free Concerts to go on When mass arrests happened during the LSA sit-in of 1970 he defended  protesters and worked on the legal defense of BAM strikers during '72. as well as defending a number of local activists over the years.

    Koster's candidacy statement leads off with "...it is the function of the court to strive for the fair and equal application of the laws of the state of Michigan, keeping firmly in mind that it exists to serve the people ahead of the state." Don wants to implement many progressive forms; if he can get away with even half of them the court will be at least, more humane, open and accessible to the people.

   Most "professionals" view the court as a collection agency for landlords and other businesses. Don wants to change this by insuring reasonable bond to people who wish to plead not guilty and fight their case. He sees it as the job of the court to "assure that it is not more difficult and expensive to have a hearing before a judge than to plead guilty and pay a fine." He wants to expand the court so that it has evening and weekend sessions for the convenience of working people. Small Claims Court too, should hold evening and weekend sessions to make it easier for poor and working people to utilize Small Claims. Don's work and commit- ment in this community over the years, aJ long with his understanding of the change necessary in the court, make him our favorite candidate.

    George Alexander gets our support in the race for the newly created judge seat. George is 43 years old and was the primary ' organizer of the Washtenaw County Public Defenders Office. He has been the director of that office since its inception in 1971. George wants to see the court streamlined to save the court's time and money, as well as the citizens. His experience in organizing and directing the first Public; Defender's office in Washtenaw County. his experience in being before judges more than any of the other candidates except Koster, give him ; excellent credentials for being judge. He believes that the court personnel . the clerk, bailiff and court recorder have a lot to do with the atmosphere of the court. George wants new blood in the courtroom, so that it need not be a stuffy, intimidating place, but a more open and less uptight situation.

     Others in the race include: Ann Arbor Assistant City Attorney (prosecuting attorney) Bruce Laidlaw, somewhat of a liberal who carne with the Harris administration; Ann Arbor attorney Shirley Burgoyne, the only woman running and a near winner of a Circuit Court Judgeship two years ago; local lawyer Glynn Barnett from the firm of Hiller. McCormick, Barnett and Creal; and James Sexsmith, Washtenaw County assistant prosecuting  attorney.

   These candidates all run basically the same rap; streamlining the courts, more people-oriented  courts with easy access to the citizens. fair and equal justice under the !aw regardless of race, color, creed or national origin. The same rap we've been hearing for years, the same rap which later is ignored, creating the  situation we find ourselves in today.

     From where we sit there is no indication from the statements of these candidates, or from their practice or activity over the years, that they would move to make even the minimal reforms necessary to make the courts begin to function on behalf of the people which they are supposed to serve. We believe Don and George are positive steps in the right direction.

    Use the power, register and vote. 

              ---Pun Piamondon