Letters From the Issue of Thursday, June 7, 2007

THE SHAME GAME

"Crybaby" presiding judge: I am an attorney who has practiced in this state for more than 30 years. I was one of the attorneys who spoke to the Phoenix City Council just before it fired Municipal Court Judge Mike Carroll and asked them not to do such a terrible thing to a just and honorable man ("Injustice System," Sarah Fenske, May 31). I was one of many, including a judge who had previously retired from the bench and had known Mike and his work as a judge for many, many years.

The "hearing" was a joke. The firing was a "done deal" long before any of us went to the council and told it the truth about Presiding Judge Roxanne Song Ong and what was going on in Phoenix Municipal Court. Judge Eric Jeffery's background aside, it was the lack of Song Ong's ability to handle a clearly administrative issue without running to the council like a frightened baby to its parent for "protection." Is that really the kind of judge the council wants running the largest city court in the Valley?

Apparently so. Guess why? Because only a short time before the mayor and council had made a very public announcement, lauding themselves on appointing the very first Asian woman to a position of such power and esteem. Diversity, it seems, has "come a long way, baby."

The dispute between Song Ong and Mike Carroll was a minor one, relative to the things that happen at city court, and was one that she, as presiding judge, was supposed to handle. If she couldn't handle a small administrative problem like this, ask yourself how she is handling far more important administrative issues. But I guess the article you printed explains it pretty well.

Shame on the city council, and shame on the judges at the city court who, unlike Karyn Klausner, are afraid to speak out.
Eleanor L. Miller, via the InternetFired for asking, "Why?":Judge Roxanne Song Ong should not only be immediately terminated, she should be brought up on charges, not the least of which being conduct unbecoming of a judge. She is an embarrassment to our system of justice.

Should nothing be done, we are setting the stage for all to believe it is normal practice to oust the person who simply asks, "Why?" This was a pure tar-and-feathering of a person who simply chose to exercise his right to free speech.
Mindy K. Reyes, via the InternetFrom the reading-impaired:I have known Judge Eric Jeffery for many years. The unsubstantiated, baseless allegations are just that — allegations, with no support or evidence.

Judge Jeffery is a man of high integrity, dignity, caring and is, above all, a proponent of the law, not a violator of it. He is, and has been supported by many for the excellent work he has done for the City of Phoenix and the Phoenix legal community.
Suzanne Dondeville, via the Internet"Astounding" abuse of power:As a former resident of Phoenix and, at the time, a proud one, it is sad to see that this once great city has followed (or beat) the national trend of unfair and unlawful treatment of judges.

Civil liberties are disappearing very rapidly and, in this case, the abuse of power is astounding. How did this happen, and where were the Phoenix City Council members?

The head judge should lose her job over this. She is obviously biased, unfair and spiteful. How else to explain denying Phoenix residents [a jurist with] all those years of experience [in] Judge Carroll.

Wait, it was a few e-mails. Gee, we all should get fired, I guess.
M. Petrone, via the Internet

ANN COULTER JR.

A robot and a liar: From the story about the campus super-conservative: "In one breath, [Emily] Mitchell can explain why she's against Hillary Clinton, affirmative action, and feminism, then switch gears with a smile and offer you a cookie." That's charm? Maybe if this were the 1950s. ("Move Over, Ann Coulter," Megan Irwin, May 24).

This Mitchell person sounds like a crazed robot. Her pronouncements are so determinedly chipper — her arguments about keeping a child conceived by a rape made me blanch, especially coming from someone who's clearly never been there.

Mensa or no, you wonder just how complex a thought she can actually process. Something the professor who rejected her initial capitalism versus communism paper seemed to have gotten a taste of.

All in all, Mitchell sounds naive, like the perennial newly matriculated college freshman who's convinced she and only she has uncovered True Knowledge & Wisdom.

This entirely aside from the fact that she sounds like a chronic drama queen and a liar.
Jean Grey, Los AngelesSqueaky wheel: Maybe young people have checked out of the political process and activism precisely because people like Emily Mitchell cheat and dishonestly subvert the system solely to win their cause, not to win a consensus that there is a better way to live our lives.

Squeaky wheels are ecstatic being squeaky as long as they think their grease can get on others. I truly feel sorry for this woman.
Tracy Nash, TucsonCulture club:As a black woman, I've been involved with various organizations specific to black women . . . and the kid [Emily Mitchell] actually has it right — it's about culture. If she'd wanted to start a Polish-American club, then yay for her! But what kind of "culture" is "Caucasian"?