Election Bylaw to Be Considered

® February 2001 The Monthly Newspaper of the Philadelphia Bar Association Vol. 30, No. 2 Chancellor Writes Election Senate Panel About Ashcroft Bylaw to Be After a discussion at its January meeting, the Considered Association’s Board of Governors authorized Chancellor Carl S. by Jeff Lyons Primavera to express “the sense of the Board” on the nomination The Board of Governors has autho- of John Ashcroft to be attorney rized the publication of a bylaw change general of the United States. proposed by Chancellor Carl S. Primavera On Jan. 26, Primavera sent that widens the opportunities for mem- the following letter to all members to obtain absentee ballots beyond bers of the U.S. Senate Judiciary the current guidelines to permit individ- Committee. uals not in a defined Center City area to Dear Senator: Chancellor Carl S. Primavera is congratulated by Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice request the ballot. I write today to express the Russell M. Nigro during the Annual Chancellor’s Reception held Jan. 4 at the Park Hyatt The bylaw change will be formally Philadelphia Bar Association’s Philadelphia at the Bellevue. considered by the Board at its February very real concern regarding the meeting. nomination of John Ashcroft to If approved, the new bylaw, along Rochelle M. Fedullo. that area on election day, also may vote be Attorney General of the with a bylaw proposing Internet voting, The amended bylaw reads as follows: by absentee ballot. The area known as United States. will be offered to the membership for “A Member who, by reason of illness, dis- Center City Philadelphia is defined as At a meeting of this consideration. This vote is tentatively ability or accident, will be physically that area bordered on the east by the Association’s Board of Governors scheduled for the Quarterly Meeting in unable to vote in person may vote by Delaware River, on the west by the on Jan. 25, Board members late March or early April. absentee ballot. In addition, a Member Schuylkill River, on the north by Spring voiced continuing skepticism “Our goal is to have these two items whose principal office is located outside Garden Street and on the south by South about the advisability of this submitted simultaneously at the next of the area known as Center City Street. The Association shall issue to such nomination notwithstanding Quarterly Meeting,” said Board chair Philadelphia, or who will be absent from continued on page 8 Senator Ashcroft’s recent testi- mony and the statements of his various defenders. The leaders of this 13,000-member Association 3 New Staffers Join Bar Communications Team are deeply troubled by this nom- A new communications Corporation of Malvern, reporter at the Gloucester produced promotional mate- ination. If confirmed, Senator team is in place to take the where she served as an exec- County Times in Woodbury, N.J., rial and assumed a variety of Ashcroft would become the chief Association and its publica- utive assistant. Prior to that, and as wire editor at Today’s other duties. She has also continued on page 3 tions into the new century. she worked as a copy editor Sunbeam in Salem, N.J. He is a worked as an intern for the Working primarily under at The Herald in Rock Hill, SC. graduate of Temple Pennsylvania State Senate. the direction of Mark A. In that capacity she edited University. She is a graduate of West Tarasiewicz, Director of news stories and designed Genna M. Viozzi is serv- Chester University. Publications and New Media, and laid out news pages. She ing as Public Relations According to Bar In This Issue ... the three new staff members has also worked at The Sun Associate and is also respon- Association Executive will be responsible for assist- News in South Carolina and sible for the Bar Association’s Director Kenneth Shear, the 2 Chancellor’s Column ing in the production of the was a graduate assistant at Web site. She comes to the new communication team “is Association’s printed and the University of South Association from Starcite, a already up and running — 3 Ben Levy Tribute electronic publications, and Carolina. local Internet startup, where building on the award-win- communicating the Jeff Lyons is the new she helped manage the ning tradition that has been 6 Public Interest Association’s story via print Managing Editor of the development and implemen- established here and charting and electronic media and the Philadelphia Bar Reporter news- tation of the company’s new directions as we increas- 7 YLD Update Internet. paper. Before joining the Bar strategic communications ingly take advantage of the Kate Maxwell serves as Association, he worked as plan. Prior to that she latest technological advances 8 Bar Foundation the Managing Editor of The copy editor at the Courier-Post worked as Senior to convey our message.” Philadelphia Lawyer magazine. of Cherry Hill, N.J., where he Communications and Shear noted that “this is an 10 Bar Officers A graduate of Pennsylvania assumed numerous editing Editorial Assistant at Catholic exciting time for the Bar State University, Maxwell also and production responsibili- Charities USA in Alexandria, Association; a time of energy 13 People holds a Masters Degree in ties. Lyons’ strong journalis- VA. While there she wrote and great promise.” Mass Communication from tic background also includes and edited news stories, Associate Executive Dir- 14 Feasts to Famine the University of South a stint as copy editor of the assisted with press confer- ector Daniel A. Cirucci will Carolina. She comes to the Bucks County Courier Times and ences and media relations, oversee the communication Bar Association from SCT experience as wire editor and helped plan special events, effort. Visit the Philadelphia Bar on the Web at www.philadelphiabar.org • Look for Bar Reporter Online e-newsbrief every Monday morning Here’s How We Measure Judge Candidates by Carl S. Primavera and reported by certified public criteria-based strengths or failings of accountants. The responses are broken individual candidates are neither This year, the Association’s 29- down according to those lawyers who announced nor discussed. member Commission on Judicial F R O N T L I N E have appeared before a certain judge The Judicial Commission is thor- Selection and Retention will evaluate and those who have not. The Com- ough, methodical and broadly repre- candidates for 10 vacancies on the mission uses the poll results as one of sentative. Common Pleas and Municipal Court the measurements in determining Anyone who wants to know how benches. We will also evaluate 23 whether or not to recommend a judge the Commission operates need only Common Pleas and Municipal Court for retention. look in the bylaws of the Association judges who are up for retention. All Commission votes on candi- that are contained in your Legal While we do not yet know how many dates are by secret ballot and require Directory. It’s all there in Article VI of candidates will file for the judicial the vote of a majority of the Com- the bylaws, Judicial Selection. This vacancies, it is safe to say that the mission members plus one. Whenever year the Commission will proceed Commission will probably complete the Commission issues a preliminary under the very able leadership of its more than 40 evaluations for initial Additional time is also spent review- “Not Recommended” rating it also Chair, Nicholas Lisi. The Commission’s election and retention positions during writing samples and other factors gives the candidate in question the ex-officio members include the ing the course of the year. that bear on a candidate’s qualifica- specific criteria upon which the Com- President Judge of the Court of Each investigation into a candi- tions. Every candidate is also given up mission based its determination. Any Common Pleas, the President Judge of date’s credentials will consume at least to two hours of consideration by the candidate who receives a preliminary the Municipal Court, Philadelphia’s 10 hours of volunteer time by inves- full Commission. “Not Recommended” rating may with- District Attorney, the City Solicitor of tigative team members and probably In the case of judges up for reten- draw his or her application and the Philadelphia, the Chief Defender of the another 10 hours of staff time. The 90- tion, the Association commissions a rating will not be made public. But Defender Association, and our U.S. member investigative division repre- non-binding poll of all lawyers in the any such candidate who still wishes to Attorney for the Eastern District. Other sents the eyes and ears of the Judicial city. This poll makes you part of the pursue his or her evaluation before ex-officio members are: the Executive Commission. Each candidate is process. It gauges your detailed the Commission is afforded an oppor- Director of Community Legal Services reviewed by a three-member team assessment of every judge standing for tunity to make a final appearance in or a representative of the CLS Board; which includes one non-lawyer. retention. The factors that we measure front of the Comm-ission to address the chairs of our Criminal Justice, Investigative Division members inter- coincide with the objective qualifica- the concerns evidenced by the Family Law and Probate and Trust view judicial candidates as well as tions that the Commission uses in Commission’s preliminary vote. Sections; the chair of our Young lawyers, judges and others who are evaluating every candidate. The poll is During this appearance, the candidate continued on page 3 knowledgeable about the candidates. independently conducted, tabulated is given sufficient time to respond to the concerns of the Commission, and all members of the Commission are permitted to question the candidate.

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