By The TimesLEdger
In a letter to the editor that appeared in last week’s edition, Linda Fedrizzi, the president of the Queens County Bar Association, asks the TimesLedger to “portray our judiciary in a fair and favorable light.” She adds that our editorials have served “to undermine the confidence our citizens have in the judicial process.”
Whether or not they have confidence in the judiciary, the public has no reason to have confidence in the judicial selection process. The process is a farce. Ms. Fedrizzi notes that “the majority of the judges are elected by the public.” That’s precisely the problem. Ms. Fedrizzi maintains that it is the responsibility of the voters to know the qualifications of the judicial candidates so they can make informed choices.
Linda, are you serious? Do you really think that the average voter has the time or inclination to study the qualifications of judicial candidates? And even if they did, they would still serve as rubber stamps for Democratic Party boss Tom Manton.
We agree with Ms. Fedrizzi that there are some excellent judges in Queens. But like the less-than-dazzling jurists who also sit on the bench in Queens, these judges would not be where they are without the blessing of Mr. Manton. We also note that Ms. Fedrizzi is not an impartial observer.
Like the state’s attorney general, the bar association should be leading the fight to reform the judicial selection process. Instead Ms. Fedrizzi has chosen to defend a system in which judgeships are handed out as political rewards to the party faithful.
Editorial: Blood money
In the months that followed the attack on the World Trade Center, the federal government has made millions of dollars available to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11. It was inevitable that some scoundrels would seek to cash in on this tragedy. Some will get away with their crime. Those who get caught deserve harsh punishment.
The Manhattan district attorney contends that Cyril Kendall is one of those scoundrels. Kendall, who allegedly has 12 children, claimed that a 13th child died during the World Trade Center collapse. He then collected $190,000 and might have gotten more if someone hadn’t challenged his story, according to the DA.
The prosecutors say Mr. Kendall went to great lengths to prove child No. 13 really did exist. A jury will decide whether Mr. Kendall is telling the truth. If he is guilty, we hope the judge will throw the book at him.
If he is convicted, he will not be the first to go to jail for trying to exploit this tragedy for personal gain. Anyone who tries to get rich off of 9/11 deserves society’s contempt.
The American people responded with enormous generosity intended for the families of those who lost their lives on that terrible day. It is deplorable that a greedy few have tried to take advantage of that generosity.
