Posted: Monday, 28 September 2009 10:32AM
Retain Judge Burke
Steve Corbett Reporting
Monday, September 28, 2009
Until he retired in the cruel aftermath of a stroke, my father Shamus kept a message of inspiration taped on the wall of his office at the police station where he worked for nine years as chief after serving 34 years with the Pennsylvania State Police.
The word was “truth.”
As one of the best police detectives in the world, my dad believed so much in the search for “truth” that he cut colored letters from a magazine and slapped them right up there on the wall of his office for anybody and everybody to see.
Cops and criminals saw the word.
I saw it, too.
The search for truth stills guides good citizens everywhere.
That deeply personal inquiry means admitting when you are wrong and caring enough to do something about it. That’s why I’ve decided to tell you the truth as I see it. I’ve been wrong and want to fix my error.
You might not agree with my decision. That’s OK. What’s right for me might not be right for you. What matters most, though, is that we continually evaluate our decisions and our actions, changing our behavior when we believe it might do some common good.
I was wrong to believe we should punish all elected county judges up for retention by voting against them in the Nov. 3 election. I still believe that ten years is too long for a county judge to remain on the bench. The term often turns into a lifetime of political power rather than judicial wisdom.
I understand the anger that fuels opposition to any sitting judge, or incumbent candidate for that matter, particularly in Luzerne County where an ongoing federal corruption investigation threatens to implode the comprehensive public service upon which we depend for the sacred public trust.
So I won’t tell you not to vote against the two judges up for retention there.
I already did that. And that reactionary anger has caused me some serious internal turmoil. I’ve struggled with this position as much as I’ve battled with any political decision I’ve ever made.
And I’ve made quite a few troublesome decisions in my lifetime.
After much thought, I’ve decided that it is not fair to punish Judge Tom Burke because the understandable zeal for getting even rivals a shark’s thirst for blood in the water. I’ve decided that if I lived in Luzerne County I would vote to retain Burke.
Over the past few weeks I’ve talked with numerous people about Burke. I interviewed him on the air. I spoke with him at some length in person Friday before the rededication of the Luzerne County Courthouse.
Nowadays, as much as ever in Luzerne County, role models are crucial to our sense of progress and the sense of justice. We must place faith in leaders if we hope to survive as a community. Without judges who rise to the highest level of judicial conduct in the midst of wild judicial misconduct – both criminal and moral – we will continue to fail.
I want Luzerne County to succeed. I want liberty and justice for all. I want to believe in somebody. I want to know that decency guides our common struggle for fairness.
So I’ll take a risk on Burke.
I have no reason to believe that Burke has done anything other than his best to uphold the law.
Some people argue that any judge who sat on the bench with the two disgraced former Luzerne County president judges who now face racketeering and other federal charges must have known that something was wrong.
I understand that feeling.
Judges can get complacent and too wrapped up in their own work to notice the cracks in the majestic courthouse that surrounds them. Judges can let their ego and even their own sense of propriety get the best of them. Judges can isolate themselves and lose sight of the vigilance they must forever maintain even among themselves.
The system of judicial checks and balances must be strengthened in Luzerne County.
But who among our elected and appointed public servants is strong enough to change the culture of corruption that has pillaged the public trust for so long? Who is brave enough to face off against colleagues who might not want to work as hard as they must to uphold that public trust?
Burke is as good as anybody and better than most.
Burke might be the best person for the job.
I’ll accept whatever criticism you have for me because I’ve changed my mind. But my decision came after long hours of going back and forth to understand myself and the role we all play in trying to make life better for us all.
That’s the truth.
And that’s the best I can offer.
Shamus would approve.
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