Letter: Vote Sam Swanberg for Superior Court
This is in support of Sam Swanberg. One of the fundamental principles of our legal system is that our courts are open to the public. On any court day, members of the public can come to observe the proceedings. However, the public does not. In all of my trials I can only count a handful of disinterested individuals attending a trial just because they were curious as to what was going on. This is also true for pretrial hearings.
Judge Burrowes backers claim that he is very fair and treats all individuals in his courtroom with respect and dignity. Have any of those individuals actually observed Judge Burrowes in court? My hunch is very few have. I have seen a side to Judge Burrowes that is not at all like how his backers portray him. I have seen him be rude and condescending to defendants and attorneys for no apparent reason. His treatment of people is one of the reasons I do not allow him to sit on cases involving my clients.
Take into consideration the local bar poll results, which overwhelmingly support Sam Swanberg. Also compare the local attorney endorsements between the candidates. Vote for Sam Swanberg.
Dennis Hanson, Kennewick
This story was originally published October 23, 2016 at 3:54 AM with the headline "Letter: Vote Sam Swanberg for Superior Court."