In response to retired attorney Suzanne S. McLaughlin’s letter “Bar’s picks better”: I find her rhetoric to be arrogant. Her assumption that any Pennsylvania county’s bar association should be the ultimate voice for endorsing jurists in elections is preposterous. A political party, whichever one, is made up of a diverse group of individuals, not just a group of the same professionals in membership.

The intent of court systems is justice for all; however, we have all seen that intent does not always equal conclusion. But to assume that only a certain group of professionals should be in control of getting jurists elected is beyond comprehension. It is true that party affiliation may help or hurt a candidate, but let the public be the ultimate decision-maker, not a special-interest group. That is the basis for our elective process — free choice.

If only legal organizations should be endorsing jurists for election, then perhaps Pennsylvania should look into privatizing the court system rather than the liquor control system. What a dangerous, slippery slope that would be for everyone!

George Aul

Belle Vernon

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