Columnist Jeff German: Nasty mix: Lawyers, politicians

Friday, Nov. 22, 2002 | 11:20 a.m.

The polls tell us that lawyers and politicians make up the least trusted professions in the country.

So when we have a situation where lawyers turn into politicians, the potential for distrust is even higher.

The race between District Judge Jeff Sobel and Jackie Glass is a prime example of why the public has a low opinion of these professions.

And why reforms in how we select judges are needed.

It was a nasty race from the start, with Glass accusing Sobel of being lazy and keeping a small workload, and Sobel attacking Glass saying she was inexperienced and carried a long list of DUI clients. More than two weeks after Glass handily defeated Sobel, sparks still are flying.

The latest controversy is a letter Glass sent out to lawyers, many of whom likely will appear before her in court, soliciting contributions to retire her large campaign debt.

Those being asked for money include lawyers who backed Sobel during the heated campaign. The pressure on these lawyers to help Glass pay for the mudslinging that ousted Sobel must be enormous.

Yet what Glass is doing is perfectly legal under current campaign guidelines covering judicial races.

It's also distasteful and a good reason why some states appoint their judges.

"I think it's an unfortunate situation when candidates in judicial campaigns have to raise money from lawyers who go before them, but that's the way it is," says Richard Morgan, dean of the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Tom Pitaro, a seasoned criminal defense attorney who supported Sobel, says he would prefer not to have to donate money to any candidate. But he adds that he also isn't offended by the Glass letter.

"There are rules set up so the process is not abused," Pitaro says. "It's not as corrupt as people want to make it."

Pitaro says the system works relatively well.

"If you don't want to give a candidate anything, you don't have to," he explains. "Any attorney who thinks his career is dependent on a $100 donation to a successful judge probably shouldn't be practicing law."

But Pitaro also acknowledges that there's room to fine tune the current campaign guidelines.

Jeff Stempel, a Boyd Law School professor who specializes in ethics, says the only way to minimize the effect of politics in judicial races is to either appoint judges for the length of their term or follow what is known as the Missouri Plan, a procedure in which judges initially are appointed but then forced to run in an election to retain their jobs.

Nevada voters turned down a ballot initiative seeking to set up a Missouri Plan here in 1988. Subsequent legislative efforts also fell by the wayside.

But Stempel says bitter races like the one between Sobel and Glass tend to undermine the entire judicial branch and give credence to the argument for appointing judges.

"I don't think it's good for the judiciary when you have a rip-roaring campaign where candidates engage in negative advertising and have to shake down contributors," he says.

Whether we need to appoint judges or merely reform campaign contribution laws, it's clear that something needs to be done to purify the selection process.

The alternatives are there. If we do nothing, we can look forward to nastier versions of Sobel v. Glass in the future.

Here's another example of why it's hard to trust lawyers who turn into politicians.

Remember the biggest issue in the district attorney's race?

It was experience.

Assistant District Attorney Mike Davidson, who oversees the civil and family support divisions, boasted that he was the only candidate who had experience running the complicated office.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger played up his years as a criminal prosecutor in the high-profile Major Violators Unit.

The voters chose Roger.

You'd think the election would have sealed Davidson's fate in the district attorney's office. How could he work for the guy he swore didn't know the first thing about running the office?

Well it turns out that Davidson can work for Roger -- and will -- as an assistant district attorney for the next six months.

Roger says that will allow Davidson to gain five years' worth of county retirement benefits.

So much for campaign issues.