From George Vernon

Monroe

To the Editor:

Every week dozens of Green County residents are summoned to appear in the Circuit Court. The great majority of their cases involve so-called “minor” offenses: traffic violations; divorce and related family law matters; drug and alcohol violations. Those people sit in the gallery for an hour or so until their case is called and, hopefully, resolved. In that hour they may form the strongest opinions they ever hold about the justice system.

As a lawyer, now retired, I have sat and observed these proceedings for many hours. I have observed, and come to know, Attorney Jane Bucher. Jane’s job is to be the lawyer for low-income defendants. Each of her clients benefits from Jane’s wise counsel. But far more importantly, all summoned to court, as they sit for an hour or so until their case is called and resolved, assess the fairness of the proceedings and of the outcomes dispensed.

Those represented by Jane benefit personally from her counsel and guidance. But all who sit and observe in that unfortunate and rare hour in court, also benefit in a larger way from what they see in her example. There are several strong candidates for the February 16 judicial election. Every one of them is a friend of mine; every one of them is qualified to be judge. But when we go to vote we have to pick one. For the above reasons, my pick is Jane Bucher.