Kentucky

The Courier Journal has released its endorsements for the four remaining judicial races on the ballot this November having given a thumbs up for Cunningham, Smith, Watkins and Holton.

Their op-ed is as follows:

Voters in Jefferson County will find four nonpartisan contests for the local bench on their ballots. Here are our recommendations in each of those races. Our choices were made based on interviews with the candidates, a review of their records and discussions with respected civic leaders and members of the bar:

Circuit Court, Division 4:

The appointed incumbent, Charlie Cunningham, spent his career in private practice before joining the court earlier this year. He has been endorsed by Citizens for Better Judges, and we favored him in May's primary.

His opponent, William Douglas Kemper, served nine months as an appointed circuit judge before losing the seat in 2006; by all accounts he was well-qualified for that job, with experience as a prosecutor.

Our longstanding view is that appointed incumbents who are doing a good job should be retained. Because that is the case here, we urge a vote for Judge Cunningham, but we hope Mr. Kemper will return to the bench in time.

Jefferson District Court

Division 2

Two earnest and able attorneys face one another in this contest. John VanderToll has varied experience as a public defender, as an assistant commonwealth's attorney, as in-house counsel for large health care companies and, for the last seven years, in private practice. He has encouraging views about the need for transparency in the courtroom.

Anne Bailey Smith also has a blend of public and private practice in her résumé. She began her career as a teacher, but went to law school and worked as a public defender, rising to lead the adult division. She moved on to the county attorney's office, where she prosecuted DUI cases. In time, she moved back to the public defender's office, where she has successfully handled a variety of cases, including some involving the death penalty.

Ms. Smith has the endorsement of Citizens for Better Judges, and because of her extensive, concentrated courtroom experience, we also favor her election.

Division 8

Four candidates have filed in this division, and three of them -- Anne Dedman Watkins, Theodore "Ted" Shouse and David Bowles -- are excellent potential jurists. The fourth, D. Stephen Parks, did not respond to a request for an interview, and was rated highly qualified or qualified by only 3 percent of attorneys participating in the Louisville Bar Association survey of local lawyers.

Mr. Shouse has an impressive background as an attorney in the Department of Public Advocacy, where he defended convicts on death row. He also taught advanced criminal procedure at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law.

Mr. Bowles, whom we endorsed two years ago in his unsuccessful bid for a judgeship, is a former Jefferson County police officer and the son of a former district judge. He has been a private practitioner with extensive experience and has the endorsement of Citizens for Better Judges.

Anne Dedman Watkins' trump card is her intensive experience working every day in district court for five years. She was a floater in the county attorney's office, and every day dealt with felony-misdemeanor cases. Before she came to Jefferson County, she was a prosecutor in Henderson, Ky.

Earlier in her career, she represented doctors and hospitals in malpractice cases. She, Mr. Shouse and Mr. Bowles are all well qualified to sit on the bench. Because of her experience, however, we think Ms. Watkins has the edge.

Division 16

It is difficult to offer a positive recommendation in the district court race between appointed incumbent David Holton and challenger Katie King. Neither is the optimum candidate.

The overblown speculation in anonymous campaign fliers about two 911 incidents in which Ms. King has been involved is not persuasive. There is no proof of any illegal conduct on Ms. King's part. However, the circumstances in both incidents call into question her judgment and maturity.

Nevertheless, Ms. King is a hard worker who has promise as a public servant. However, despite meeting the requirement for at least two years of experience in legal practice, we believe Ms. King could benefit from more seasoning.

Mr. Holton, for his part, says he was mistaken in accepting a plea bargain in a recent drunk driving case involving very serious injury to the victim. He did not, as a responsible judge should have done, inquire into the circumstances surrounding the plea before giving his OK. The Jefferson County attorney calls this an abuse of judicial discretion. Mr. Holton says he was serving as a substitute judge and, had he known the background, would have ruled differently. The assistant county attorney who agreed to the plea was also at fault.

Neither candidate gets creditable ratings in the bar poll, although Ms. King's are especially low. Mr. Holton gets the nod from the group that promotes a quality judiciary, Citizens for Better Judges. We also endorsed Mr. Holton in the primary, before the drunken-driving case made news. We recommend him again this time, although with no enthusiasm. Whoever wins bears watching.