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Political forum: Circuit Court Division 4 candidates discuss strengths |
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Monday, 05 May 2008 |
Two of the three candidates for a new Saline County Circuit Court judgeship outlined their strengths for sitting on the bench during Political Forum 2008 on Sunday afternoon at the Royal Theatre.
Robert Herzfeld, a former prosecuting attorney for the county, and Paul White, who has served as a special judge in Saline County Circuit Court and in Bauxite and Haskell district courts, are two of the candidates. Both are from Benton.
The third candidate, Hayward Battle, 57, is a minister and did not arrive from one of the two congregations he serves in Pine Bluff untll the event had concluded.
Battle is an attorney for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Aministration’s Office of Child Support Envorcement. His district includes Saline, Hot Spring and Grant counties.
Herzfeld, 34, currently serves as Haskell city attorney and practices law in Benton. White, 41, practices law in Bryant.
Neither Herzfeld nor White elected to ask questions of the other. Both said they are seeking the same job, not opposing each other.
Herzfeld said he considers serving as judge a means of giving service to others, a trait he learned from his father, the late Bob Herzfeld. “My dad taught me that we have a duty to serve our community,” he said.
Noting that a judge’s chief responsibility is to administer justice, Herzfeld said it is important to temper justice with mercy. Justice sometimes involves a decision not to prosecute while sometimes it means making the painful decision to tell a parent or grandparent that a young person must be prosecuted.
White said he has not been involved in any previous partisan politics and could serve impartially if he is elected.
He said a judge must serve “without favoritism and ... with integrity.”
He pointed out that are penalty ranges set for a judge to follow, although some flexibility is allowed.
Herzfeld said he wants “to put my experience to work” as a judge and said his track record and commitment can enable him to serve effectively.
He said he would always “try to be fair and do what is right.”
White said he has the right mix of experience, discretion stability and jugdment to serve the county well.
He said he wants to continue the tradition of reason, fair-mindedness and judgment exhibited by the current judges in their respective terms in office.
The nonpartisan judgeship Herzfeld, White and Battle are seeking was created last year by the Arkansas Legislature to help ease the case load in the 22nd Judicial District.
The forum co-sponsored by the Courier and Courier TV 95.
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