EDITORIAL: For Department 22

The case for re-electing District Judge Susan Johnson in Department 22 was made much stronger last week by one of her primary opponents, Jacob Hafter.

Mr. Hafter, an Orthodox Jew, slammed District Judge Valorie Vega as an anti-Semite and a racist on Facebook after she denied his request for a break in an ongoing medical malpractice and wrongful death trial so he could observe the Jewish holiday Shavuot. The trial schedule had been set since last summer.

“Either she’s anti-Semitic or she’s biased against me,” Mr. Hafter told the Review-Journal’s David Ferrara.

Mr. Hafter wasn’t aware that Judge Vega’s husband, Review-Journal gaming reporter/columnist Howard Stutz, is Jewish.

Few terms are more charged than “anti-Semite” and “racist.” Such labels are reserved for people who engage in verifiable, despicable behavior. That someone running for a District Court judgeship would be so quick to use them is despicable in its own right. That an attorney would wildly throw them at a judge during a trial is beyond unprofessional — it’s reckless stupidity that invites a mistrial.

Mr. Hafter is asking voters to oust Judge Johnson and place him on the bench in her place. It’s quite an understatement to say Mr. Hafter lacks the temperament to run a courtroom. In last year’s Review-Journal judicial performance evaluation, 71 percent of surveyed attorneys recommended retaining Judge Johnson. The Review-Journal endorses District Judge Susan Johnson in Department 22 over Mr. Hafter and Bruce Gale.