Rice, Christley stand out in court of appeals race

Two of the five judgeships in the 11th District Court of Appeals will be featured on the Nov. 5 general election ballot, giving voters in Trumbull and the other four counties in the court's jurisdiction the opportunity to a) elect an individual with an impressive re & acute;sume & acute;; and b) strike a blow for the impartial administration of justice.
With regard to a), we believe that Cynthia Rice of Brookfield, a former assistant United States attorney assigned to the Youngstown office and a former assistant county prosecutor, is the obvious choice in the three-person contest. The seat is being vacated by long-time judge, Robert A. Nader.
Rice, who resigned her position as a federal prosecutor to run for the appeals court, has the qualifications and temperament and an understanding of the role of an appellate judge to do an admirable job. From her responses to questions posed by editors and writers of The Vindicator, it is evident that she has familiarized herself with the workings of the court and has given a great deal of thought to her role on the bench.
We believe that Rice's experience in handling criminal and civil cases, her exposure to the federal criminal justice system and her ability to clearly articulate her ideas will stand her in good stead on the bench.
The other two contenders for judgeship are Mark J. Hassett of Chagrin Falls, who is in private practice and has been a lawyer for 27 years, and Jeff Black of Willoughby, who also is in private practice and serves as a magistrate in the Willoughby Municipal Court.
While Hassett and Black have the qualifications and experience to wear the robe, we found that they lacked the passion about the law and about serving as judge exuded by Rice.
The other contest
It is the same kind of passion that has prompted Judge Judith Christley of the 11th District Court of Appeals to do something so unorthodox that it has attracted the attention of judges and lawyers across the state. Christley, who was first elected to the court in 1986 and is in the middle of her third term, is challenging a colleague on the bench, William M. O'Neill, in next month's election.
O'Neill is completing his first six-year term. He had previously run in 1992 but lost to Christley.
Christley's challenge has a political element. The resident of Andover is a Republican, while O'Neill, who lives in South Russell, is a Democrat. If she wins the election, the governor, presumably Bob Taft, would make an appointment to fill the position she currently holds, giving the court a Republican majority.
With this scenario in mind, Vindicator editors and writers met with the two candidates separately, and while the incumbent insisted that his colleague's challenge was nothing more than partisan politics and personal animus, we arrived at a different conclusion after we talked to Christley.
We believe her when she says politics has nothing to do with her candidacy.
We are swayed by the evidence she presents to show that O'Neill has allowed his personal beliefs and his professional predilections to not only interfere with his role as an impartial arbiter of the law, but to cause upheaval in the court.
She specifically points to O'Neill's refusal to recuse himself from cases decided by Geauga County Probate and Juvenile Judge Charles Henry. Christley notes that Henry has filed a disciplinary complaint against O'Neill.
She also says that he is an activist judge who is results-oriented and, therefore, ignores the law and legal precedent when deciding cases.
Counter-punch
O'Neill denies his opponent's allegations and notes that his re-appointment as presiding judge of the 11th District court is proof of his colleagues' respect for him. Indeed, he says Christley voted for him, but then became upset when he refused to support her for the position of administrative judge.
We acknowledge that it is difficult for those not intimately involved in the day-to-day operation of the court to know with any degree of certainty what is taking place.
Thus, the question must be asked: Why would someone with an unquestioned commitment to the law and to the judiciary level such serious charges against a colleague? We believe the answer lies in Judge Christley's genuine concern about the reputation and standing of the 11th District Court of Appeals.
We, therefore, support her challenge of O'Neill.
The Vindicator endorses Cynthia Rice and Judith Christley.