League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund
	Hamilton County, OH November 4, 2008 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Justice; Ohio State Court of Appeals; District 1

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Pressing Issues, Implementation, Merit Selection, Evaluation, Mandatory sentencing Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What are the two most pressing issues you will face if you are elected? (50 word limit) Answer from Lee H Hildebrandt, Jr.: Judges must remain fair and unbiased; he or she cannot have an agenda. There should not be any predetermined issues because it is an apolitical job. 2. How will you address each of those issues? (100 word limit) Answer from Lee H Hildebrandt, Jr.: See the answer above. 3. What is your position on merit selection of the judiciary? (100 word limit) Answer from Lee H Hildebrandt, Jr.: I am against the merit selection of judges because it suggests that the voters are not smart enough to make cogent choices for judges. Further, it does not take politics out of the selection process. My understanding of how it works is that the governor appoints a "blue ribbon" committee that recommends potential jurists. In my opinion, that would still be a political process. 4. What would be a fair way to evaluate the performance of a sitting judge? (100 word limit) Answer from Lee H Hildebrandt, Jr.: A fair way to evaluate a sitting judge is whether he or she properly applies the law to the cases that they hear. 5. What is your opinion about mandatory sentencing? (100 word limit) Answer from Lee H Hildebrandt, Jr.: I am against mandatory sentencing. A judge should have the discretion to sentence on a case-by-case basis. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. The answer must not exceed 100 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.