Letters to the editor Feb. 23

A bright legal mind

I began prosecuting cases in 1973 and became a District Court judge in 1989 for the Montana Fourth Judicial District Court. While I officially retired in 2016, I remain active helping on cases and just finished trying my final jury trial in Butte. What a ride for an Anaconda kid!

I have seen some things over the past 38 years in the judiciary, and what I see right now is a chance to elect one of the most well-regarded district court judges in Montana to the Montana Supreme Court.

Judge Amy Eddy is smart, ethical, a hard worker and fair. She is not afraid to step in and make difficult decisions. She cares about the law, the people of Montana, and the future of a fair and independent judiciary. She supports law enforcement, follows the Constitution and protects all of our rights. She is one our brightest legal minds, one of our top trial court judges and would serve the people well.

I am behind her 100% and cannot give her a higher recommendation. I hope you’ll join me in doing everything we can to get her elected to the Montana Supreme Court.

— Judge Ed McLean (Ret.)

Jury duty

If you want to know why nothing ever gets done in Congress, it’s the same reason our jury system is purely for the convenience of trial lawyers not citizen jurors.

About 47% of senators and 32% of House members are lawyers. Drama is the norm. Waiting until the last minute to avert a government shutdown rather than concluding business in a timely fashion is no different an attitude than exhibited in dealing with local jury duty.  

Jurors are supposed to detail times they will be unavailable for the next year. They do seem to allow later requests for excuse from duty. But do you know your schedule a year in advance? In my experience the overwhelming number of notices to report for jury duty are canceled the night before when the brinkmanship lawyers settle the case.  

Perhaps someone from our court system can provide information:

What percentage of cases, after potential jurists are notified to report, are canceled the day before jury selection? Apparently, it is common since jurors are told to call a number after 5 p.m. the night before. The potential jurist has already canceled any activity for the time allotted to trial, no minor inconvenience for someone working.  

What happens in the courtroom for which the trial was scheduled? Do the judge and other personnel take the day off and leave an empty courtroom, or is something else scheduled?  

Why can’t the norm be to have any settlement or plea deal completed a week or two in advance? Who benefits from this brinkmanship?  

So, we are headed for another shutdown with back pay for all employees who get a vacation. If they haven’t squirreled away a couple of months expenses, shame on them.  

Seems to me the only people who get screwed by lawyers’ brinkmanship are we the taxpayers.

— David Myerowitz, Columbia Falls