My judicial philosophy has been shaped by my experience
serving as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Justice Daniel J. McNamara in
the First District Illinois Appellate Court and by my thirty-one years of experience practicing as
a lawyer in front of many different state and federal court judges. Above all,
as a Judge I will follow the example of Justice McNamara. He was extremely
intelligent, a good listener, a hard worker, and fair. What really set him apart
from other Judges, however, was his demeanor, humility, character and integrity.
He treated every person in his court room and outside his court room with total
dignity and respect. Even the losing side felt that they had been treated fairly
and that they had received a fair day in court. Justice McNamara honestly
cared about people and justice, and he conveyed that in every action that he
took. Our justice system is not perfect. Mistakes do happen. At a minimum,
for our justice system to have the potential to work right, we need Judges who
possess those traits. I know what makes for an outstanding Judge because I
worked for the best.
People have often heard that a Judge is bound to follow the law, regardless of
his or her own personal beliefs. But Judges vary widely in how good of a job
they do in interpreting and applying the law. A Judge is not a computer into
which a math equation is inputted and the one and only correct result comes out.
A good Judge follows a process before a result is achieved. A good Judge does
not have any preconceived notions about the parties, the witnesses, the issues
or facts, and keeps an open mind and is equally eager to hear both sides’ cases.
A good Judge in the process treats those in his or her court room civilly and
expects the same conduct from all persons in the court room in return. A good
Judge is wise enough to know that he or she does not know everything and takes
care to read carefully the legal briefs submitted by the parties and to consider
carefully the evidence presented. A good Judge is consistent in his or her
treatment of the parties and application of the law, but at the same time is not
so rigid that the Judge is incapable of changing, admitting that he or she has
made a mistake, or considering new arguments or new developments in the law. The
truth is when you vote for a Judge, you vote for a whole person, and the person
that she or he is does enter into the process. Like Justice McNamara, I am
humble, hard-working, treat people equally and with respect, and I really do
care about people and about making the justice process a fair one.
A good Judge must be skilled at resolving disputes. People often think of a
Judge as a person who oversees the trial of a lawsuit. The truth is that the
majority of civil cases in Cook County never go to trial. A Judge is basically a resolver of disputes. So how does a Judge resolve disputes? This again is where
the personality of the Judge can be very important. The dispute in front of the
Judge can involve matters where emotions run high, people have been hurt or are
very angry, or sensitive personal issues are involved. Good Judges should
understand people, be able to put herself or himself in the shoes of each side,
and be skilled in bringing adverse parties to a position in which a resolution
becomes possible. My wide range of legal experience includes having worked on
many matters for clients in which they have lost their jobs and do not know how
they will pay their bills next month. Many clients have broken down and cried in
my office. Some are very afraid. Others are angry and initially think the
answer is revenge by suing the person who offended them. It is appropriate that
another name for a lawyer is a counselor. You cannot separate the person out of
the legal issue or dispute. Over many years of dealing with people in many types
of legal disputes, a certain wisdom about people does come from the experience.
A good Judge in my opinion should be skilled in mediations as an alternative
method for resolving disputes. In addition to trials and appeals, I have
conducted many mediations and I am a trained mediator.
My prior training and experience as a schoolteacher will be invaluable to me as
a Judge. A good teacher must be able to manage a classroom. A Judge must manage
a courtroom. A good teacher must give others the tools with which to help
themselves. A Judge does that, too. A good teacher must be a good communicator,
must fairly and consistently apply the rules, must make others accountable for
their actions, and must treat everyone with dignity and respect. A good Judge
does all of these things as well. Good teachers lead by their example and raise
the level of performance of others by setting appropriate expectations. Judges
do the same thing. A good Judge can empower the attorneys in the court room to
raise the level of competency, civility and ethics of those who appear in court.
In summary, I firmly believe in the judicial philosophy stated above. I have the
skills, character, and personality traits necessary to make a significant
contribution to the betterment of our justice system. I am eager to get to work
and will be a dedicated public servant as a Circuit Court Judge.
