I believe you. It's a shame. Judges are very powerful people, and usually work without much oversight. A corrupt judge can do a lot of harm.
Illinois has a reputation for having crooked officials, especially in Chicago. So does Louisiana, and New York City. Virginia seems to have a pretty clean government, from what I've seen. I like that.
Here in Fairfax, if the judge ever partnered with an attorney, he or she will not sit on that attorney's cases, or if it was a long time ago, and the association was not close, may simply state the association, and ask whether the parties want him or her to recuse him or herself. And if a lawyer is a close friend of the judge, the same thing is expected. But in some counties, there is only one judge, so that can't be the solution. The best judges are upright and moral paragons. But there are bad apples everywhere. |
