Tea Party asks judge candidates to discuss views
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
The Fayette Tea Party Patriots held a judicial roundtable at their headquarters in Uniontown Thursday for the candidates running for judge in Fayette County. Four of the five candidates were in attendance, including (from left) attorney Steve Walton, Magisterial District Judge Joseph M. George Jr. and Assistant District Attorneys Linda Cordaro and Douglas S. Sepic.
Sepic
Cordaro
George Jr.
Walton
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
In this file photo, candidates for the two available seats on the Fayette County bench are shown at a roundtable held in May. Linda Cordaro and Joseph M. George Jr. (center) secured the spots and were sworn in Monday.
Attorneys vying for two open judgeships in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas fielded questions generated by Fayette County Tea Party Patriots on a variety of unlikely topics for potential judges, from their thoughts on the likelihood of Islamic law being enforced in American communities to their opinions on capital punishment.
Thursday’s judicial roundtable discussion took place at Tea Party headquarters in Uniontown before a packed house. Four of the candidates — Steve Walton, Joseph M. George Jr. Douglas S. Sepic and Linda Cordaro — appeared at the event. The fifth candidate, Jack Purcell, declined to attend because of a scheduling conflict, said Dave Show, who acted as the moderator for the event.
Each candidate answered the question about sharia law, or the moral and religious code of Islam, by saying that under the expansion of the religious freedom granted under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, they could see how it would be possible to see sharia law being enacted in some communities. Each, however, said they believed sharia law should not be a part of the U.S. system.
“As a judge,” said Sepic, an assistant district attorney from South Union Township, “I think you would have to drag me off the bench before you could get me to enforce it.”
On the subject of the death penalty, George, Cordaro and Sepic agreed that if a jury rendered a capital sentence, each of them would be willing to impose it. George and Cordaro noted that as prosecutors, they have both had the experience of working on capital cases. Sepic added that he believes it is unfair to the taxpayers to allow convicted murderers to file appeals indefinitely and effectively avoid the punishment meted to them.
Walton was the lone dissenter on the subject of the death penalty. He apologized to those in the room whom he believed would disagree with him, and said, “I believe in the sanctity of all life. I can’t sit here as one who opposes abortion, and sanctify the death penalty.” Responding to comments made by Sepic regarding the limits of constitutional due process when it comes to highly technical appeals in capital cases, Walton said, “If it’s a death penalty case, I don’t want a fair trial, I want a perfect trial.”
“We’ve just not seen how the death penalty deters crime,” added Walton, a Menallen Township attorney.
All of the candidates have crossed-filed and will appear on both the Republican and Democratic ticket in the May 21 primary, but Tea Party members wanted to know the candidates’ individual political affiliations and why.
Walton said he tells anyone who asks that he is a registered Republican. “I tell them, ‘If you believe conservative principles should guide the judiciary, vote for me.'”
Sepic said he is a Democrat, because for so many years, Republicans have not produced a viable candidate locally who could survive primary elections. To use his voice, he said he had to register as a Democrat.
George, a magisterial district judge from South Union Township, said the decision was simple for him. “I said, ‘Mom, dad, grandma, what do I register as?’ They said ‘Democrat,’ and so it has stood.”
For Cordaro, an assistant district attorney from Connellsville, her political party registration was similarly dictated she said.
“I clearly remember the day I registered to vote,” Cordaro said.
She said at age 18, on her first day as a legal secretary for an attorney in Connellsville, her employer asked her if she was registered to vote yet and she said no. “My boss said, ‘Get in the car, and go register as a Democrat.” However, she said, she makes informed decisions at election time by learning about the candidates as individuals rather than voting exclusively according to her party.
Asked to cite a U.S. Supreme Court decision they disagreed with, two candidates — Cordaro and George — said they were not in agreement with the high court’s decision to uphold most of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare.”
Sepic’s response was, “At one time I was in agreement with Roe v. Wade,” but now, he said he believes “the rights of a woman to seek an abortion can be regulated by the states.”
Walton said he disagreed with the Supreme Court’s 2005 decision regarding eminent domain, or the power of the government to take private property for public use, particularly non-blighted property being turned over to corporate developers.
As a follow-up, Show asked the candidates to respond “yes or no” to the question, “Was ‘Obamacare’ an example of legislating from the bench?” All four agreed that it was.
The candidates also discussed whether they believe the Constitution is a living document.
“There is a provision for amendments,” George said. “Our founding fathers did at least acknowledge we might need to revisit the Constitution. But they made it difficult, for a reason.”
Cordaro said she disagrees with calling it a living document because, “That denotes that it changes over time, gets old and dies. We don’t want that.” She added, “It has to be strictly construed though.”
Sepic also said he believes in a strict interpretation of the Constitution and that the rules contained within it are designed to limit the powers of the government, not the people.
“The government’s rights were given to them by the Constitution,” Sepic said. “Our rights exist no matter what.”
Walton said the Constitution is “turning blue and gasping under the current administration.”
“It is as it is,” Walton added. “It’s not an evolving document.”
The candidates were asked if they feel corruption has been a problem in the local judicial system. George said as a member of the minor judiciary, his answer is no.
Cordaro said that while corruption is everywhere, and evil forces can be at play in any setting or occupation, her experience is that there are no corrupt local judges. “I have the utmost respect for our bench here in Fayette County,” she added.
Sepic emphasized the importance of avoiding the appearance of impropriety, which he said is as bad as actually being corrupt.
“If you think the bench is corrupt, your belief is what resonates,” Sepic said. “Your perception becomes reality.”
He said he does not believe the court should have relatives trying cases before relatives, for example, because it gives the appearance of impropriety, which makes the county look bad.
Walton responded jokingly to the moderator’s question with his own: “Is there corruption? Is that a rhetorical question, Dave?” He said a primary reason he decided to get involved in this year’s election was to raise the level of integrity in local politics, and try to stem the tide of corruption.
The candidates brought up the matter of the Ten Commandments monument outside Connellsville Junior High School when asked to talk about the meaning of the phrase “separation of church and state.” Each expressed support for the monument, and Sepic additionally noted that the phrase does not, in fact, appear anywhere in the Constitution.
George said, “There shouldn’t be much of a debate. The idea is to not force state-sponsored religion upon us.”
He said he didn’t believe the intention of the separation of church and state was to remove monuments with historical value from schools or other government buildings.