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Saturday, April 22, 2006
Ind. Courts - Two Lake judges fare poorly on bar survey
John Byrne of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today:
Lake County Bar Association ratings of county judges and candidates for the bench are out, and they don’t look good for Jesse Villalpando’s sparring partners.Eduardo Fontanez and Stanley Jablonski, who are running against incumbent Villalpando for the Democratic nomination for Lake Superior Court Division Four in Hammond, got the lowest scores in all four categories among 11 people rated by bar association members. * * *
Judge Julie Cantrell, a frequent Villalpando antagonist, rated just above Jablonski and Fontanez in all four categories.
Michael Pagano, Cantrell’s magistrate, got the highest scores across the board.
Villalpando’s scores were a mixed bag, mostly in the middle of the pack.
He fared worst in “character,” finishing seventh of the 11.
Fontanez said he puts little stock in the results.
“Stanley Jablonski and I at the bottom, with Judge Cantrell just ahead of us? That sounds to me like Judge Villalpando was out working the phones to make sure his friends filled out their questionnaires,” Fontanez said. “That says more about Judge Villalpando’s politicization of the bench than it does about my qualifications.”
Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 22, 2006 04:20 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts