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Political forum: Two for Circuit Court Division 1 tout personal, professional traits |
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Monday, 05 May 2008 |
Candidates for the Saline County Circuit Court Division 1 bench agreed during Political Forum 2008 on Sunday that judges must rule with fairness and consistency.
Either Bobby McCallister or Brent Standridge, both of Benton, will succeed Judge Robert Garrett, who is retiring.
The nonpartisan 22nd Judicial District position will be decided in the May 20 primary election. The candidates will appear on both the Democrat and Republican ballots.
“To be consistent as a judge, you have to be somewhat consistent in your decisions,” McCallister said. “One thing I have always been consistent about is listening.”
McCallister said he “grew up learning values and morals. I try to live my life with passion and I want to be a good influence on young people and others in the community.”
“Personal and political agendas must not fit into the equation” for a judge, Standridge said.
“I believe in equal justice under the law, and judges must apply the law and not be policy makers.”
McCallister, 43, is a former Benton School Board member. He has served as city court judge in Haskell and Shannon Hills and was Haskell city attorney.
He has served as a special judge in Saline County Circuit and District courts, where he presided over civil and criminal trials.
Standridge, 47, served as district judge in North Little Rock. He has served three times as a special associate justice for the Arkansas Supreme Court and has served as a special Saline County Circuit Court judge.
He was an assistant state attorney general. He has handled cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, Arkansas Supreme Court, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and Arkansas Court of Appeals. He served for six years as Saline County’s chief deputy prosecutor.
“I have spent a lot of my time fighting crime,” Standridge said. “As a judge, you don’t necessarily throw the book at everybody. Each case is different and must be weighed on its merits.”
“I have been on a bench,” McCallister said. “I have knowledge of law and of people. I want to affect and influence people.”
Neither candidate elected to ask the other a question during the forum, which was held at the historic Royal Theatre in Downtown Benton.
The forum is co-sponsored by the Courier and Courier TV 95.
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