Editorial: Incoming judge’s plea raises questions

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002 | 9:17 a.m.

Imagine the surprise of Judge Jeffrey Sobel's campaign contributors. Last week they received a letter from Jackie Glass, the defense attorney who defeated Sobel in a District Court race. In the letter, Glass thanked "Judge Sobel for 12 years of service, and I wish him nothing but the best." What a hoot, especially after Glass waged a mean-spirited campaign against Sobel that questioned his integrity, accusing him of being lazy and also being lenient in his sentencing of criminals. But politics is politics, and even winners try to reach out to an opponent's supporters following an election.

As you read on in the letter, though, Glass' real reason for writing becomes clear -- and it has nothing to do with extending an olive branch to her vanquished opponent. Glass is soliciting contributions to retire her campaign debt, and she wants Sobel's backers to pitch in. It's a debt, by the way, racked up by expensive television ads that vilified Sobel. Leaving aside the chutzpah of turning to Sobel supporters to help her get out of a jam, there is a larger issue that is troubling.

Judges, even though they have to raise campaign contributions to get their message out to voters, still must be above reproach. But Glass' letter is unseemly. Obviously most of Sobel's supporters are attorneys (a situation common for most judicial candidates). Sobel supporters may feel under pressure to cough up cash now to help Glass wipe out her campaign debt. The attorneys may worry that if they don't do so, they may not fare well if they appear in Glass' courtroom someday. It also is ironic that Glass, who ran a scorched-earth campaign attacking Sobel's record, already has stepped into a mess of her own making -- and she hasn't even been sworn in yet.