To the Editor:
When I started as a volunteer CASA in 1994, I had not given much thought to what qualities I expected of the judge other than an impeccable character. When I was preparing a report for a complex case and I needed the judge to read the report and conclude the same as I had—that the child needed to be removed immediately from what was planned to be its adoptive home—I started mulling over the qualities needed for a judge to effectively carry out his or her responsibilities and assessing what qualities the judge I was addressing had. I started the following list and it grew with time:
- An open mind,
- A good listener,
- Honest to himself or herself as well as to all others,
- A good communicator,
- Willing to learn from others as the case progresses,
- Even-tempered with all participants in a case,
- Good legal knowledge and experience,
- Free from personal biases,
- A commitment to basic principles of what is right,
- Emotionally and mentally mature and takes responsibility for his or her actions,
- Empathetic—a combination of both understanding and feeling,
- Altruistic—has the strength to make a difference in the lives of others,
- Compassion and tolerance,
- Friendly and respectful,
- Always seeking what is best for the child,
- Able to assess whether sufficient information has been gathered to adjudicate a case, and
- Willing and capable to seek out others in the community and surrounding counties to find ways to prevent children and parents from coming before a judge.
There is nothing as rewarding and memorable as participating in the legal process of permanently removing an emotionally and/or physically abused child from uncaring parents and placing the child with loving parents who will cherish, protect, and care for the child’s every need. I feel my years of service in CASA make me well qualified to offer an endorsement of a candidate to serve as our next Anderson County juvenile judge.
Based on my conversations with Lauren Biloski and what I have learned from others, I have full confidence she meets the above qualifications, and I ask for your vote for Lauren Biloski for our new Juvenile Court judge in the Republican primary.
Dale Hedges
Tennessee state recipient of the 2013 CASA Volunteer of the Year
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