Georgia Court of Appeals: Anybody but Tom, Dick or Harry Mead, Part III -- Send Howard Mead a clear message that this court seat is not for sale.
This post is about the Mead charade.
I have not seen any polling data, but given the amount that Mead is spending to try to buy himself a seat on the Court of Appeals, success is a distinct possibility.
In this post I am critical -- reflecting disgust and anger on my part -- of Mead for his ads, his tactics, his misrepresentations.
In a post I did yesterday I noted: "I feel very comfortable in strongly recommending a vote for Debra Bernes on Tuesday 10. At the same time, I genuinely congratulate both candidates for a fine and honorable showing at the Atlanta Press Club debate. You both did the bar proud.
I certainly cannot say the same for Mr. Mead, who prior to his attempt to buy seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals, had a distinguished and honorable record of service with our profession and this state, not to mention impeccable an undergraduate and law school pedigree at Harvard.
But you know what might not be so funny, at least not to me.
Given the amount of money he is spending and the numbers of eyes who have heard his name alone with respect the the Court of Appeals seat, the last laugh may be his.
I am an attorney, and as such, there is a very good possibility that within the next 12 months I will be arguing before him if his bankroll proves successful. If this happens, please know this.
Everything that I have written yesterday, today and may write tomorrow, is just for your entertainment. Actually, I think Mr. Mead is a wonderful person.
And I also must say how wonderful and effective his TV ads are that are done by fellow lawyer Bobby Kahn. Whoever thinks some holes ought to be barred in judicial races is just not with it.
That said, it is time to load my L.C. Smith double-barrell shotgun for some fall hunting.
_______________
A 10-22-04 ajc article by Bill Rankin is entitled "Big bucks buy blitz in judge's race." Excerpts:
Howard Mead seems to be doing all he can to make the most of a second chance.
Once a lawyer for Democratic Govs. Zell Miller and Roy Barnes, Mead has spent a record $1.3 million for a chance to sit on the Georgia Court of Appeals, in what typically would be a low-profile race.
As Mead blankets the airwaves with TV ads, his two opponents are accusing him of trying to buy the election and of denigrating the legal profession.
Mead has raised a record amount for a judicial campaign in Georgia, thanks largely to $1.09 million in personal loans to his campaign --- for a job that pays $152,139 a year.
The winner Nov. 2 will succeed retiring Judge Frank Eldridge. Appellate court judges are seldom challenged for re-election and rarely defeated when they do have opposition.
Mead, who taught at the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech after leaving the governor's office, said he wants to follow in the footsteps of Elbert Tuttle, the former federal appeals court judge in Atlanta whose landmark rulings in the 1960s led to the integration of public schools and facilities.
Our courts are too important to let special interests start taking them over by electing their own candidates," Mead said. "If there's something I can do to step up to the plate and stop that, I'll do it."
[Uh, excuse me, but what did this guy just say? What special interests, and what taking over? Your contributors point more to someone being backed by special interests than the other candidates. You take after Sen. Kerry Sir, in being willing to say anything to try to get a vote. And what are you going to do to stop such taking over? Oh, your stepping up to the plate is a second attempt to try to buy yourself a seat.]
To get his message across, Mead has spent more than $1 million on some of the most pointed TV ads in the history of Georgia's judicial elections. While some ads extol Mead's work at the Capitol, others take shots at his opponents for becoming criminal defense lawyers.
One ad notes that while Mead left a lucrative law practice [and what lucrative law practice would that be Sir?] and entered public service to fight for tougher drunken driving laws and remove corrupt public officials from office, Bernes and Sheffield "made different choices." They left their positions as prosecutors "to become high-priced criminal defense lawyers and work for the kind of people they once sent to jail."
Another ad claims that Bernes and Sheffield have been "working to keep drunk drivers, drug dealers and child molesters out of jail." It is the reason, the commercial boasts, "police and prosecutors across Georgia have endorsed Howard Mead for Court of Appeals."
[Even after this contradiction that follows, Mead continues to run this ad. It was on following The Georgia Gang this a.m.]
When asked which law enforcement officials have endorsed him, Mead ticked off a number of sheriffs and prosecutors, including District Attorney Danny Craig of Augusta, Monroe County Sheriff John Cary Bittick and Hall County District Attorney Jason Deal, who contributed $500 to Mead's campaign.
But Craig said he is endorsing Bernes and has put up signs promoting her candidacy around the Augusta area.
"Mr. Mead's ads are despicable," said Craig, who was a defense lawyer before becoming a prosecutor. "The last time I checked, the Constitution affords everyone the right to a lawyer."
On Thursday, Mead said he was disappointed Craig is not endorsing him as he had pledged to do in June.
Judicial openings in Georgia rarely inspire hotly contested political campaigns. Historically, with few exceptions, judicial candidates ran on their records, hardly ever criticized their opponents and never stated their positions on hot-button issues.
Mead's aggressive advertising campaign has incensed his two opponents, who are firing back.
Sheffield said that when he left the DeKalb County district attorney's office in 1984 he became a public defender, hardly a high-paying job. After moving his practice to Gwinnett County in 1999, Sheffield noted, he began prosecuting cases once again as a solicitor in Duluth.
"This guy apparently will do anything or say anything to get elected to this position," said Sheffield, who is president of the Gwinnett Bar Association. "At the same time, he's never been a prosecutor, never been a criminal defense lawyer, never had a jury trial and never had a case before the [state] Court of Appeals or the Georgia Supreme Court."
Sheffield describes himself as a conservative candidate who opposes abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Of the three candidates, he has raised the least amount of money --- $65,287, according to campaign disclosure reports.
Bernes, who left the Cobb County district attorney's office in 1999 and is a private lawyer in Marietta, also criticized Mead's ads.
"It's disturbing to me that someone sworn to uphold the law is criticizing another lawyer for being an integral part of the judicial process," she said. "I think his commercials are denigrating to the legal profession, and I think it really shows his inexperience."
Bernes said she respects Mead's public service, but voters should consider her "wealth of appellate experience." As a prosecutor, Bernes said, she wrote more than 400 appeals.
Bernes, past president of Cobb's bar association, has raised $361,509 in political contributions and plans to begin airing her own ad next week. She described it as a "positive" commercial about her family and professional accomplishments.
Sheffield and Bernes are counting on strong support and high turnout in their home counties. If no candidate gets at least 45 percent of the vote in the nonpartisan election, a runoff would be held Nov. 23.
Mead has received strong financial support from Barnes and his former chief of staff, Bobby Kahn. Mead purchased his TV ads through Kahn's company, LUC Media Group Inc.
Mead discounted the suggestion that he is not experienced enough to sit on the appeals court. He said he served as a law clerk for two federal appeals court judges, which he said makes him uniquely qualified to sit on the state Court of Appeals.
[This guy's eyes are brown. As an attorney, it is difficult to believe he is putting such trash out for public consumption. That is, having clerked for judges -- despite not true "lawyer" experience -- makes him uniquely qualified to sit on the state Court of Appeals.]
"I've got a lot more relevant experience than those two combined," he said. "I've been a lawyer for two governors and two federal judges, and I'm proud of it."
[Ditto above about the guy's eyes being brown. "I've got a lot more relevant experience than those two combined." Doing what, misrepresenting things. Boy your mama needs to wash out your mouth with some soap.]
The only time the three candidates squared off before a state appellate court, "I won and they lost," Mead said, referring to his successful challenge before the Supreme Court of the July 20 election results.
[You got a point there son. But the next round, like the first, will be before the Court of Public Opinion.]
_______________
More excerpts, this time again from Bill Rankin in a 10-28-04 ajc article entitled "Judicial candidate's ad creates lawyer brouhaha:"
[Mead] ads note that Mead left a private law practice and joined the public sector to work for Govs. Zell Miller and Roy Barnes, while Bernes and Sheffield left jobs as prosecutors to become criminal defense lawyers "to keep drunk drivers, drug dealers and child molesters out of jail."
Mead defended his ads as an accurate portrayal of the three candidates' career paths.
_______________
And one more, this time from an article by Walter C. Jones for Morris News Service in the 10-28-04 Augusta Chronicle:
Mr. Mead, who is spending $1 million of his own money in a three-way race for an open seat on the court, has blanketed the state with ads showing him talking with police officers and meeting in the Appropriations Committee room of the Capitol.
An announcer says his opponents, without calling Michael Sheffield and Debra Bernes by name, left jobs as prosecutors to be "high-priced criminal-defense lawyers and work for the kind of people they once sent to jail."
Actually, Mr. Sheffield left to work as a public defender for 15 years before entering private practice, and Ms. Bernes' defense income was $8,000 less than what Mr. Mead was paid working in Gov. Roy Barnes' office. Mr. Mead, incidentally, has never argued before a jury or appeals court. Mr. Sheffield and Ms. Bernes have.
Leeza R. Cherniak, an Atlanta lawyer, former member of the Georgia Indigent Defense Council and legal analyst for a TV station [said s]he has contributed $50 to Ms. Bernes, though she has never met her.
"I was going to support Howard Mead. ... until I saw his ad," Ms. Cherniak said.
Mr. Mead said in an interview that he was merely contrasting the career paths to show he had not traded on his political connections after Mr. Barnes' defeat and had instead taken a job teaching college.
The ads imply defense attorneys can't become fair judges while also implying that Mr. Mead would judge criminal cases harshly . . . .
_______________
Today on The Georgia Gang Bill Shipp said if Howard Mead wins, it will change judicial politics forever.
It sure will. This go round it might be his money. If it works, and he is elected, Pandora's Box is already open.
I have not seen any polling data, but given the amount that Mead is spending to try to buy himself a seat on the Court of Appeals, success is a distinct possibility.
In this post I am critical -- reflecting disgust and anger on my part -- of Mead for his ads, his tactics, his misrepresentations.
In a post I did yesterday I noted: "I feel very comfortable in strongly recommending a vote for Debra Bernes on Tuesday 10. At the same time, I genuinely congratulate both candidates for a fine and honorable showing at the Atlanta Press Club debate. You both did the bar proud.
I certainly cannot say the same for Mr. Mead, who prior to his attempt to buy seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals, had a distinguished and honorable record of service with our profession and this state, not to mention impeccable an undergraduate and law school pedigree at Harvard.
But you know what might not be so funny, at least not to me.
Given the amount of money he is spending and the numbers of eyes who have heard his name alone with respect the the Court of Appeals seat, the last laugh may be his.
I am an attorney, and as such, there is a very good possibility that within the next 12 months I will be arguing before him if his bankroll proves successful. If this happens, please know this.
Everything that I have written yesterday, today and may write tomorrow, is just for your entertainment. Actually, I think Mr. Mead is a wonderful person.
And I also must say how wonderful and effective his TV ads are that are done by fellow lawyer Bobby Kahn. Whoever thinks some holes ought to be barred in judicial races is just not with it.
That said, it is time to load my L.C. Smith double-barrell shotgun for some fall hunting.
_______________
A 10-22-04 ajc article by Bill Rankin is entitled "Big bucks buy blitz in judge's race." Excerpts:
Howard Mead seems to be doing all he can to make the most of a second chance.
Once a lawyer for Democratic Govs. Zell Miller and Roy Barnes, Mead has spent a record $1.3 million for a chance to sit on the Georgia Court of Appeals, in what typically would be a low-profile race.
As Mead blankets the airwaves with TV ads, his two opponents are accusing him of trying to buy the election and of denigrating the legal profession.
Mead has raised a record amount for a judicial campaign in Georgia, thanks largely to $1.09 million in personal loans to his campaign --- for a job that pays $152,139 a year.
The winner Nov. 2 will succeed retiring Judge Frank Eldridge. Appellate court judges are seldom challenged for re-election and rarely defeated when they do have opposition.
Mead, who taught at the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech after leaving the governor's office, said he wants to follow in the footsteps of Elbert Tuttle, the former federal appeals court judge in Atlanta whose landmark rulings in the 1960s led to the integration of public schools and facilities.
Our courts are too important to let special interests start taking them over by electing their own candidates," Mead said. "If there's something I can do to step up to the plate and stop that, I'll do it."
[Uh, excuse me, but what did this guy just say? What special interests, and what taking over? Your contributors point more to someone being backed by special interests than the other candidates. You take after Sen. Kerry Sir, in being willing to say anything to try to get a vote. And what are you going to do to stop such taking over? Oh, your stepping up to the plate is a second attempt to try to buy yourself a seat.]
To get his message across, Mead has spent more than $1 million on some of the most pointed TV ads in the history of Georgia's judicial elections. While some ads extol Mead's work at the Capitol, others take shots at his opponents for becoming criminal defense lawyers.
One ad notes that while Mead left a lucrative law practice [and what lucrative law practice would that be Sir?] and entered public service to fight for tougher drunken driving laws and remove corrupt public officials from office, Bernes and Sheffield "made different choices." They left their positions as prosecutors "to become high-priced criminal defense lawyers and work for the kind of people they once sent to jail."
Another ad claims that Bernes and Sheffield have been "working to keep drunk drivers, drug dealers and child molesters out of jail." It is the reason, the commercial boasts, "police and prosecutors across Georgia have endorsed Howard Mead for Court of Appeals."
[Even after this contradiction that follows, Mead continues to run this ad. It was on following The Georgia Gang this a.m.]
When asked which law enforcement officials have endorsed him, Mead ticked off a number of sheriffs and prosecutors, including District Attorney Danny Craig of Augusta, Monroe County Sheriff John Cary Bittick and Hall County District Attorney Jason Deal, who contributed $500 to Mead's campaign.
But Craig said he is endorsing Bernes and has put up signs promoting her candidacy around the Augusta area.
"Mr. Mead's ads are despicable," said Craig, who was a defense lawyer before becoming a prosecutor. "The last time I checked, the Constitution affords everyone the right to a lawyer."
On Thursday, Mead said he was disappointed Craig is not endorsing him as he had pledged to do in June.
Judicial openings in Georgia rarely inspire hotly contested political campaigns. Historically, with few exceptions, judicial candidates ran on their records, hardly ever criticized their opponents and never stated their positions on hot-button issues.
Mead's aggressive advertising campaign has incensed his two opponents, who are firing back.
Sheffield said that when he left the DeKalb County district attorney's office in 1984 he became a public defender, hardly a high-paying job. After moving his practice to Gwinnett County in 1999, Sheffield noted, he began prosecuting cases once again as a solicitor in Duluth.
"This guy apparently will do anything or say anything to get elected to this position," said Sheffield, who is president of the Gwinnett Bar Association. "At the same time, he's never been a prosecutor, never been a criminal defense lawyer, never had a jury trial and never had a case before the [state] Court of Appeals or the Georgia Supreme Court."
Sheffield describes himself as a conservative candidate who opposes abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Of the three candidates, he has raised the least amount of money --- $65,287, according to campaign disclosure reports.
Bernes, who left the Cobb County district attorney's office in 1999 and is a private lawyer in Marietta, also criticized Mead's ads.
"It's disturbing to me that someone sworn to uphold the law is criticizing another lawyer for being an integral part of the judicial process," she said. "I think his commercials are denigrating to the legal profession, and I think it really shows his inexperience."
Bernes said she respects Mead's public service, but voters should consider her "wealth of appellate experience." As a prosecutor, Bernes said, she wrote more than 400 appeals.
Bernes, past president of Cobb's bar association, has raised $361,509 in political contributions and plans to begin airing her own ad next week. She described it as a "positive" commercial about her family and professional accomplishments.
Sheffield and Bernes are counting on strong support and high turnout in their home counties. If no candidate gets at least 45 percent of the vote in the nonpartisan election, a runoff would be held Nov. 23.
Mead has received strong financial support from Barnes and his former chief of staff, Bobby Kahn. Mead purchased his TV ads through Kahn's company, LUC Media Group Inc.
Mead discounted the suggestion that he is not experienced enough to sit on the appeals court. He said he served as a law clerk for two federal appeals court judges, which he said makes him uniquely qualified to sit on the state Court of Appeals.
[This guy's eyes are brown. As an attorney, it is difficult to believe he is putting such trash out for public consumption. That is, having clerked for judges -- despite not true "lawyer" experience -- makes him uniquely qualified to sit on the state Court of Appeals.]
"I've got a lot more relevant experience than those two combined," he said. "I've been a lawyer for two governors and two federal judges, and I'm proud of it."
[Ditto above about the guy's eyes being brown. "I've got a lot more relevant experience than those two combined." Doing what, misrepresenting things. Boy your mama needs to wash out your mouth with some soap.]
The only time the three candidates squared off before a state appellate court, "I won and they lost," Mead said, referring to his successful challenge before the Supreme Court of the July 20 election results.
[You got a point there son. But the next round, like the first, will be before the Court of Public Opinion.]
_______________
More excerpts, this time again from Bill Rankin in a 10-28-04 ajc article entitled "Judicial candidate's ad creates lawyer brouhaha:"
[Mead] ads note that Mead left a private law practice and joined the public sector to work for Govs. Zell Miller and Roy Barnes, while Bernes and Sheffield left jobs as prosecutors to become criminal defense lawyers "to keep drunk drivers, drug dealers and child molesters out of jail."
Mead defended his ads as an accurate portrayal of the three candidates' career paths.
_______________
And one more, this time from an article by Walter C. Jones for Morris News Service in the 10-28-04 Augusta Chronicle:
Mr. Mead, who is spending $1 million of his own money in a three-way race for an open seat on the court, has blanketed the state with ads showing him talking with police officers and meeting in the Appropriations Committee room of the Capitol.
An announcer says his opponents, without calling Michael Sheffield and Debra Bernes by name, left jobs as prosecutors to be "high-priced criminal-defense lawyers and work for the kind of people they once sent to jail."
Actually, Mr. Sheffield left to work as a public defender for 15 years before entering private practice, and Ms. Bernes' defense income was $8,000 less than what Mr. Mead was paid working in Gov. Roy Barnes' office. Mr. Mead, incidentally, has never argued before a jury or appeals court. Mr. Sheffield and Ms. Bernes have.
Leeza R. Cherniak, an Atlanta lawyer, former member of the Georgia Indigent Defense Council and legal analyst for a TV station [said s]he has contributed $50 to Ms. Bernes, though she has never met her.
"I was going to support Howard Mead. ... until I saw his ad," Ms. Cherniak said.
Mr. Mead said in an interview that he was merely contrasting the career paths to show he had not traded on his political connections after Mr. Barnes' defeat and had instead taken a job teaching college.
The ads imply defense attorneys can't become fair judges while also implying that Mr. Mead would judge criminal cases harshly . . . .
_______________
Today on The Georgia Gang Bill Shipp said if Howard Mead wins, it will change judicial politics forever.
It sure will. This go round it might be his money. If it works, and he is elected, Pandora's Box is already open.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 4:40 PM
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