The District Attorney Personality Test
Which candidate is right for you?
Evan M. Lopez
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[ gimmicky political coverage ]
We understand: You're tired of elections. You tuned in for the mayor's race, followed the presidential primary and probably got obsessed with the November general. You're just not ready to think hard about the race for district attorney.
But hear us out. We think we can make this relatively painless. We've made a quiz you can take in, let's say, five minutes to determine which of the candidates in the Democratic primary is right for you.
Quickly, the basics: The District Attorney's Office is responsible for prosecuting criminals in the city of Philadelphia. The DA herself sets the priorities for the multimillion-dollar office and manages its heavy workload. This year's race is the first without incumbent Lynne Abraham in almost 20 years, and, since DAs tend to be popular, may determine who will hold the office for some time. The winner of Tuesday's Democratic primary will go on to face Republican Michael Untermeyer in November's general election. And probably win.
Grab a pen and make a note of your answers in the margins.
1. BIG IDEAThe candidates are all making similar noises about reforming the criminal justice system, but they have different points of emphasis. Would you prefer a candidate who first and foremost wants to:
a) Crack down on municipal corruption
b) Form an anti-gang unit
c) Lobby Harrisburg for tougher gun laws
d) Restructure the DA's office to assign assistant district attorneys by neighborhood
e) Crack down on witness intimidation through aggressive prosecution
2. ENDORSEMENTS
Who do you want endorsing your next district attorney? (Note: These are not exhaustive lists.)
a) "Not seeking endorsements" or taking political action committee money
b) A LOT of unions, including the Building Trades Council, the Teamsters and DC 47. Also the Council of Clergy
c) The Daily Newsd) The Inquirer, progressive groups like Philly for Change and Neighborhood Networks, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Philadelphia Black Clergy and 12 former district attorneys
e) Maureen Faulkner, widow of slain Police Officer Daniel Faulkner
3. RésuméWhich candidate has the most relevant professional experience?
a) Assistant district attorney ('81-'86), private legal practice
b) Assistant district attorney ('91-'96), private legal practice
c) Judicial clerk, assistant district attorney ('75-'78), City Council member ('92-'96), private legal practice
d) Assistant district attorney ('92-'02), city inspector general, private legal practice
e) Judicial clerk, assistant district attorney ('93-'98), private legal practice
4. SMALL IDEA
In the course of a campaign, every candidate will throw out ideas that are, let's say, less than transformative — but possibly still useful! Which of these ideas makes you say, "Hey, I like the way this guy thinks"?
a) Start an anonymous tipline for people to report witness intimidation
b) Create a Web site detailing judges' time sheets and records, including how often they "let criminals skip out on bail"
c) Discount crime victims' parking fees when they come to hearings in Center City
d) Provide Restorative Justice Conferencing, which allows crime victims who request it to meet (under supervision) with their attackers
e) Create a Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to improve cooperation between prosecutors, police, judges and the community
5. QUESTION MARK
Allegations of wrongdoing/incompetence/general irrelevancy of experience have been lobbed at each candidate. Which criticism do you find the least damaging?
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HALF OFF DEPOT
a) Most of your experience is in private practice, defending large companies from asbestos-related lawsuits
b) You made an inside deal with law partners to purchase a house, then refurbished and sold it four months later for a profit of $90,000
c) Your main interest isn't really in criminal justice, you just like running for stuff
d) Your campaign has had some trouble with messy accounting, which raises questions about your ability to run a large organization
e) You (admittedly) punched out a defense attorney in front of a Common Pleas judge back in 1997. The Daily News quotes a lawyer who worked with you saying that you're "not calm, cool and collected."
6. PRISON OVERCROWDING
Philly's prison system is overcrowded, and criminal justice in the city is too expensive. Which proposed solution do you like best?
a) Target violent offenders, explore alternative sentencing for others
b) Target violent offenders, explore alternative sentencing for others
c) Target violent offenders, explore alternative sentencing for others
d) Target violent offenders, explore alternative sentencing for others
e) Target violent offenders, explore alternative sentencing for others
7. BUDGET TROUBLE
We contacted each campaign to ask how the candidates would deal with potential cuts to the DA's office. (The mayor's original budget proposed reducing the office budget from $31.9 million in 2009 to $24.9 million in 2010.) Which response do you prefer?
a) I don't think the cuts are going to happen. If they do, I would stop hiring new ADAs, institute a wage freeze, try to raise revenues through asset forfeiture and try to reduce costs by diverting cases into community courts.
b) No answer by press time
c) I oppose the cuts. If they do happen, we should try to make the office more efficient.
d) I oppose the cuts. I would appoint a chief performance officer to determine what works and what doesn't before cutting anything.
e) I oppose the cuts. There are ways for the DA's office to make money, such as focusing on forfeitures.OK, we admit, this is less than scientific. Maybe one of these issues matters to you more than others, maybe one doesn't matter at all. Still: You're curious. Which candidate/candidates did you line up with most often?
Tally up your answers, and take a look at which letter comes up most often. Each candidate is assigned one:
a) Michael Turner b) Dan McCaffery c) Dan McElhatton d) Seth Williams e) Brian GradyHappy voting.
Also In This Week's News Section
A Million Stories
Icepack
Mayberry, Mogul?
Extended Q&A with Eric Mayberry
The Bell Curve
I think people are sleeping on this dude. Honestly, I am not really into politics, but that dude actually looks like he has more "real" experience than any of the other dudes running.
And can't anyone note that the FOP is trying to get a judge Craig Washington removed from office for questionable reasons. See Philadelphia Tribune,
http://www.phillytrib.com/tribune/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3795:race050509&catid=19:the-philadelphia-tribune&Itemid=48
More details google,
"Dreaming of compromise on casinos",
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/17978
http://capitolhillblue.com/blog/2419
RichardKanePA
Subject: TONYA WYCHE, The Evil Grinch who stole away the Justice from me...!!
To: Every citizen who is seeking justice from the courts.
The very essence of liberty certainly consists in the right of every individual to claim protection of laws and seek redress from the courts. When the courts become corrupted, the road to tyranny becomes more accessible. There are many examples of cases in which the court clerks have demonstrated a pattern of proclivity and kowtowing towards the prosecutors.
In my case, the evil Grinch in the Third Circuit Court of appeals sits as a case manager by the name of Tonya Wyche. Ms. Wyche refuses to docket and file my pleadings and motions to my cases. I sent a motion for dismissal of the indictment based on an congressional amendment of the federal law, which proves that the conduct charged in my indictment was never considered as a crime by the congress. I sent repeated requests to her for her explanation as to why my motion is not filed, but my inquiries were never responded. I tried to call her on numerous occasions, but she refused to take my calls. When I tried to file my motion electronically, Ms. Wyche conveniently cancelled my registration as an Electronic Document filer to the courts. Ms. Wyche also refuses to issue an scheduling order in my criminal appeals despite the appellate case file in her office since past TWO YEARS!!.
Ms. Wyche has hermetically closed the court doors for me and is preventing me to seek justice from the Court of Appeals.
Her actions and conduct is not because of incompetence, but rather because malice aforethought. This curtailment of right to access the courts makes it more difficult to seek redress and easier to prolong oppressive incarceration of innocent persons. In so far as the court clerks violate the rights recognized by the founding fathers codified in the constitution, their conduct is illegitimate. May be that these clerks have their own customized version of the constitution. But, when court clerks scorn their oath to uphold the constitution, they transform themselves into predator class, and justice is lost leading to arcane, arbitrary and secretive procedures with flagrant erosion of justice.
These type of clerks scorn their own mandatory duty by deciding the case and showing actual bias against the defendants for personal careerist reasons - promotion, retirement, post-retirement opportunity. Their power have given them a hubris, arrogance, and sense of invulnerability that has eroded the effective administration of the judiciary system. Rouge clerks do not have horns or tails; if they did, they would be easier to identify. The complaint proceedings against these corrupt clerks are a farce as no action is taken against these dissolute and venal clerks.
I am not writing this with slightest expectations of ending this autocratic behavior. These clerks cannot be stopped because their behavior is simply a function of the way they are and how they think, their dispositions, and the way they deal with the criminal defendants. However, they can be understood, exposed, and watched, and there is a compelling reason to do so. While their misconduct may be considered harmless in the scheme of things, their larger undertaking is of great concern. These clerks, who carry out their vendetta against citizens almost never have to pay to either the government's or citizen's legal bills, and their only incentive is to stretch their power as far as possible.
Clerks like Ms. Tonya Wyche cannot be trusted to exercise the powers given to them. Examples of this nature, if not restrained by national control, would be multiplied and extended till they become serious sources of arbitrary and disparate treatment. To prevent future bigots and ignoramuses from controlling the judicial system, these clerks have to be de-fanged and their arbitrary powers be excised. And without governmental involvement - without active monitoring of the actions of the court clerks and without vigorous resistance to their misconduct - people will have few means to safeguard their lives and property.
'WOE UNTO YOU SCRIBES ... [YOU] TIE UP HEAVY BURDENS, HARD TO BEAR, AND LAY THEM ON THE SHOULDERS OF OTHERS; BUT [YOU] ARE UNWILLING TO LIFT A FINGER TO MOVE THEM ...
BLIND GUIDES ! YOU STRAIN OUT A GNAT BUT SWALLOW A CAMEL ... [YOU] HAVE NEGLECTED THE WEIGHTIER MATTERS OF THE LAW AND JUSTICE....' JESUS (Matthew 23:4-24).
Submitted by,
Dr. AKHIL BANSAL
Email :- perfectinjustice.bansal@gmail.com
Blog: drakhilbansal.blogspot.com