League of Women Voters of Blount County 2006 Candidate Survey

 

Name _Thomas G. McCroskey_____Phone_865-681-7037____________________

 

Candidate for __General Sessions Judge, Division One_________________________

 

Please write your answers in the space provided or use a separate sheet, and return your survey in the enclosed stamped envelope. It is very important that you write legibly.  Please consider e-mailing your completed survey by requesting an electronic survey at rderycke@bellsouth.net     

The League of Women Voters will acknowledge receipt of your completed survey.

 

I. Qualifications and experience:

  1. Please list your diplomas and degrees, along with the areas of study.

 

1. Bachelor of Arts, 1984, Vanderbilt University; English Major

2. Doctor of Jurisprudence, 1990, University of Tennessee College of Law

 

  1. What relevant experience do you have, including previous public offices held?

I have served as Acting General Sessions Judge in Blount County on numerous occasions.  I have been a practicing  lawyer for sixteen years.

 

  1. Please list local service and civic groups in which you have participated, including when and for how long.

 

1.  Maryville Kiwanis Club, 1993 to 2000, and now 2006 to the present.

2.  Leadership Blount, Class of 1995.

3.  Blount County Habitat for Humanity, 2000 (through Broadway United Methodist Church).

4.  Knox County Habitat for Humanity, 2003 (through Knox County Bar Association).

5.  Legal Aid of East Tennessee, pro bono work during private practice.

6.  Blount County Bar Association, 1993 to present; served as President in 2000.

 

  1. Please indicate any business activities that could constitute a conflict of interest in the event you are elected.

 

I own a rental house in Blount County and would recuse myself from any case involving that property.

 

  1. Name three leadership skills that you practice.

1.  Decisiveness

2.  Organization

3.  Patience

 

F.   What unique qualities, besides the above leadership skills, do you have to contribute to this office? 

 

I believe that I always try to maintain an open mind, and pay attention to all sides of an argument before making a decision.  I also believe in the rule of law, setting aside my own personal opinions and trusting in the guidance provided by the laws and court cases that affect the matter then before me.  Finally, I’ve been fortunate to have received a good education, and to value the continued acquisition of knowledge and learning.

 

II. Questions about your understanding of the office you are seeking:

 

  1. What do you see as the three most important functions of this office?

1.  To serve and protect the legal needs of the community.

2.  To maintain the integrity and dignity of the Court.

3.  To render fair, accurate and meaningful judicial decisions to the people in a particular matter who come before me.

 

  1. What would you identify as the three most important issues facing Blount County in the future?

                1. Appropriate development of resources and infrastructure in light of growth                       demands.

2.  Education.

3.  Respectful diversity.

 

  1. What can you do in this office to impact these three most important issues?

 

Purely as a General Sessions Judge, I believe that any impact I would make would and should be only incidental.  By that, I mean that I would hope my impact would only be as a fair arbiter of disputes over the specifics of carrying out resolutions of any such issues between the parties interested in them.  Personally, I expect to use any influence I have as a result of being a Judge in Blount County as neutrally as possible.  My impact would be limited to providing the level “playing field” all parties to these issues have a right to expect from the judicial system that may be deciding their differences.  I’m sure there will be many ways I can actively help (for example, visiting schools to talk about being a Judge) without taking sides. 

 

PLEASE SEE ANSWERS TO SECTIONS  III. AND IV.   ON PAGE 3 AND 4.

 

III. Positions on specific issues of importance in Blount County:   Use a separate sheet to respond.

 

A.                 Means for insuring the fair and respectful treatment of all Blount County citizens, regardless of race, gender, religion or ethnic background, given recent concerns about racism and bigotry in our county

 

B.                 Promotion of greater diversity in our hired and appointed government officials and employees

 

C.                 Reconciling the potentially competing interests of growth/development and adequate infrastructure in our county, including the application of the Hunter Growth Strategy

 

D.                 The environmental impact of development and/or non-attainment status with the EPA

 

E.                  Identifying and resolving conflicts of interest of public officials

 

F.                  The consolidation of:

1.       city and county schools

2.    city and county government

3.    or a feasibility study on consolidation

 

G.                 Health care

 

IV.  Questions for CANDIDATES FOR JUDGE:   Use a separate sheet to answer these questions.

 

  1. How can a judge improve the safety and security of Blount County citizens?

 

  1. What can be done to ensure the safety of and respect for victims of domestic violence or other crimes in your court?                                                                                                                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWERS TO: III. Positions on specific issues of importance in Blount County

 

            A.  Means for insuring the fair and respectful treatment of all Blount County citizens, regardless of race, gender, religion or ethnic background, given recent concerns about racism and bigotry in our county.

 

As a Judge, I would keep two things in mind at all times in regards to this issue. First is the Constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law for everyone appearing before me.  No one will receive favor or disfavor in my Court because of ANY constitutionally protected status, such as their race, gender, religion or ethnic background.  Next, and just as important, all people will be treated with respect in my Court.  I will strive to leave everyone who appears before me with the sense that they received a fair hearing, that the system worked and that the law relevant to the facts of their case was applied fairly and correctly, even if they did not get the result for which they hoped.

 

            B.  Promotion of greater diversity in our hired and appointed government officials and employees.

 

I must respectfully decline to answer this question, as I believe that issues addressed by it could come before me if I am elected to the General Sessions Judgeship for which I am running.*

 

            C.  Reconciling the potentially competing interests of growth/development and adequate infrastructure in our county, including the application of the Hunter Growth Strategy.

 

I must respectfully decline to answer this question, as I believe that issues addressed by it could come before me if I am elected to the General Sessions Judgeship for which I am running.*

 

D.     The environmental impact of development and/or non-attainment status with the EPA.

 

I must respectfully decline to answer this question, as I believe that issues addressed by it could come before me if I am elected to the General Sessions Judgeship for which I am running.*

 

            E.  Identifying and resolving conflicts of interest of public officials.

 

I must respectfully decline to answer this question, as I believe that issues addressed by it could come before me if I am elected to the General Sessions Judgeship for which I am running.*

 

E.     The consolidation of:

 

      1. city and county schools

      2. city and county government

      3. or a feasibility study on consolidation

.

I must respectfully decline to answer this question, as I believe that issues addressed by it could come before me if I am elected to the General Sessions Judgeship for which I am running.*

 

G.  Health care

 

I must respectfully decline to answer this question, as I believe that issues addressed by it could come before me if I am elected to the General Sessions Judgeship for which I am running.*

 

*My responses to these questions are made with the provisions of the Judicial Ethics Commission’s Advisory Opinion No. 05-03, dated December 8, 2005, in mind.  A copy of that Advisory Opinion can be found at http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/Ethics/PDF/054/05-03.pdf.  I want to be extremely careful not to respond in such a way that would commit or appear to commit me to any particular position with respect to any such issue that might come before me.  In my opinion, the best and only honest answer a candidate for judge can give to any such question is to promise “the faithful and impartial performance of the duties of the office.”  Canon 5A(3)(d)(i), Canons of Judicial Ethics.  Although I do have personal opinions about how best to address all of the extremely important issues mentioned above, as a judicial candidate I believe it is more important to make clear that my opinions will have no bearing on how I would handle the duties of General Sessions Judge.

 

 

 

IV.              Questions for CANDIDATES FOR JUDGE:

 

  1. How can a judge improve the safety and security of Blount County citizens?

 

By always knowing, respecting and strictly enforcing the laws and procedures relevant to the matter before him or her.  A judge should also respect the efforts made by law enforcement personnel, and keep in mind the difficult circumstances under which those persons sometimes find themselves.  It would only make it harder for a police officer to spend the time and effort it takes to arrest, charge and prosecute someone if that officer felt that those efforts would be ignored or belittled by the Court.  Creative thinking can help too: I’ve always admired Judge Brewer’s idea of catching the people who plead guilty to driving without a license, then immediately go out to their cars and drive away.  The bottom line is that a Judge must always, whether in Court or as a private citizen, comport himself or herself with the utmost respect for the law, if he or she expects that respect from the community they serve.

 

  1. What can be done to ensure the safety of and respect for victims of domestic violence or other crimes in your court?

 

There are a number of things a judge can do that should help.  First, the judge should impress upon the perpetrator of the abuse or crime the fact of enhanced future punishment should there be retaliation for the victim’s decision to prosecute the crime.  Next, a judge should be aware of and make known to the victim any community resources that might be available to help him or her, such as Haven House or counseling services.  And always, a judge must be sensitive to the role every party to a crime or dispute occupies in each case: criminals are owed justice, witnesses are owed respect and victims are owed compassion.