[RP TownTalk] PG judicial election

[Dan Behrend]

My friend Eli asked that I share his post from Hope in Hyattsville in
advance of Tuesday's election. It's definitely information worth
considering before you vote.

Dan Behrend

> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Eli Braun
>> Date: April 24, 2016 at 3:23:09 PM EDT
>> To: "HOPE_in_Hyattsville at yahoogroups.com"
>> Subject: PG judicial election
>>
>> Hi neighbors,
>>
>> On Tuesday's ballot, we have a contested race among those running for
judge on the PG County Circuit Court. Six candidates are running. Voters
can choose up to four. Judges sit for 15-year terms. The Washington Post
just wrote about the candidates:
>>
>> A rare challenge in Maryland judge’s race (April 21)
>>
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/a-rare-challenge-in-maryland-judges-race/2016/04/21/65468dfe-f513-11e5-9804-537defcc3cf6_story.html
>>
>> It's difficult to get info on judges' records, but Herman Dawson, one of
the judges running for re-election, has been in the news recently.
According to the WaPo, victims of lead paint poisoning who had won
structured settlements (often worth over $500,000) sold their future
monthly payments to private companies for an immediate lump sum (worth, on
average, 33 cents of the settlement's present value). Maryland law requires
that a judge review such payouts to determine whether they're really in the
seller's best interests. Judge Dawson approved these payouts 90% of the
time, almost always after hearings that the sellers did not attend. Here's
the article:
>>
>> How companies make millions off lead-poisoned, poor blacks
>>
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/how-companies-make-millions-off-lead-poisoned-poor-blacks/2015/08/25/7460c1de-0d8c-11e5-9726-49d6fa26a8c6_story.html
>>
>> The NYT also wrote about his use of incarceration in juvenile court:
>> Judge in Maryland Locks Up Youths and Rules Their Lives
>>
www.nytimes.com/2014/12/20/us/judge-in-maryland-locks-up-youths-and-rules-their-lives.html
>>
>> Eli
>> 40th Ave. and Hamilton St.
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