Saturday, October 23, 1999
Lawyers favor Crigler for judge
Almost 200 answer survey
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON — Boone County Attorney Larry Crigler finished stronger than incumbent Judge Linda Bramlage among nearly 200 area attorneys who responded to a survey in the Boone/Gallatin family court judicial race.
The poll, conducted by the Northern Kentucky Bar Association and released Friday, showed Mr. Crigler rated “highly recommended” or “recommended” by 81 percent of the 177 attorneys responding to the poll. Just 8 percent of the attorneys did not recommend Mr. Crigler for the job.
Judge Bramlage, appointed to the bench when the family court was formed last year, was rated “highly recommended” or “recommended” by 65 percent of the lawyers. Eighteen percent did not recommend her.
The court seat — formally called Boone County Circuit, 54th Judicial Circuit, Second Division — is the only contested elective seat in Boone County on Nov. 2.
The court was formed last year by the Kentucky General Assembly. Judge Bramlage was appointed by Gov. Paul Patton in August 1998. The court deals with family related issues such as divorce, domestic violence and many juvenile cases in Boone and Gallatin counties.
With a light turnout expected because of the slim ballot, and because judicial ethics prevent judge candidates talking about many issues or how they would rule on certain cases, Mr. Crigler said the poll should be a big boost to his campaign.
“I'm very pleased,” said Mr. Crigler, well known in the county and in legal circles because of his 22 years as Boone County attorney.
“It shows I am the best qualified candidate for the job, and hopefully people will consider this when they go to the polls,” he said.
Judge Bramlage said she does not believe the poll will hurt her on Election Day.
“The poll went out to 920 attorneys and only 177 responded, so I don't think it will be detrimental to me,” she said. “Actually, I'm pleased a woman could score so high in a male-dominated profession.”
Mr. Crigler scored higher than Judge Bramlage on nine out of 10 questions dealing with a variety of legal issues and courtroom topics, including professionalism, courtesy, experience and character.
“Any time your peers look at you and rate you so highly in areas like trust and reputation, it makes you feel good,” Mr. Crigler said.
Judge Bramlage said the only response that bothered her was in a question dealing with bias in the courtroom.
In the survey, 90 percent of the respondents said Mr. Crigler would avoid bias and other pressure in exercising judicial discretion, compared with just 75 percent for Judge Bramlage.
“I was very surprised by that score,” she said. “That probably came from the fact I've been on the bench for 14 months and nobody walks out of domestic court happy.
“Attorneys can attribute that to bias on my part, but I work very hard not to be biased,” she said.
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