Bar poll rates Criminal Court Judge Don Poole at top

photo Judge Don Poole speaks during a hearing.

POLL RESULTSThe Chattanooga Bar Association released its 2011 Biennial Judicial Poll, in which responding bar members rate local judges in five categories. Below are the judges listed by name and court in the poll with the range of superior to unsatisfactory percentage rankings among the number of respondents.U.S. District Court, Eastern DivisionCurtis L. Collier: 52 to 76 percent superior, 1 to 15 percent unsatisfactory among more than 70 respondentsHarry S. "Sandy" Mattice: 63 to 82 percent superior, 2 to 18 percent unsatisfactory among 65 or more respondentsU.S. Bankruptcy CourtJohn C. Cook: 80 to 85 percent superior, 2 percent unsatisfactory among more than 40 respondentsShelley D. Rucker: 84 percent superior, 3 to 16 percent unsatisfactory among more than 30 respondentsHamilton County Chancery CourtJeffrey M. Atherton: 34 to 60 percent superior, 7 to 16 percent unsatisfactory among more than 75 respondentsW. Frank Brown III: 67 to 86 percent superior, 1 to 7 percent unsatisfactory among at least 95 respondentsHamilton County Circuit CourtJacqueline E. Bolton: 23 to 43 percent superior, 4 to 24 percent unsatisfactory among more than 80 respondentsW. Jeffrey Hollingsworth: 78 to 92 percent superior, 1 to 11 percent unsatisfactory among nearly 90 respondentsW. Neil Thomas III: 74 to 87 percent superior, 2 to 13 percent unsatisfactory among more than 90 respondentsL. Marie Williams: 48 to 72 percent superior, 2 to 19 percent unsatisfactory among at least 90 respondentsHamilton County Criminal CourtDon W. Poole: 83-92 percent superior, zero unsatisfactory ratings among more than 60 respondentsBarry A. Steelman: 74-82 percent superior, 2 percent unsatisfactory among more than 50 respondentsRebecca J. Stern: 55-70 percent superior, 2-9 percent unsatisfactory among more than 45 respondentsHamilton County Juvenile CourtSuzanne Bailey: 65 to 82 percent superior, 3 to 8 percent unsatisfactory among more than 35 respondentsHamilton County General Sessions CourtDavid E. Bales: 11-20 percent superior, 22-52 percent unsatisfactory among 65 or more respondentsRonald W. Durby: 26-55 percent superior, 4-15 percent unsatisfactory among more than 70 respondentsChristie M. Sell: 47-67 percent superior, 1-6 percent unsatisfactory among more than 65 respondentsClarence Shattuck: 75-84 percent superior, 3-6 percent unsatisfactory among 80 respondents

Local lawyers gave Criminal Court Judge Don Poole the highest marks in almost all categories on a recent bar association poll, while Sessions Court Judge David Bales received the lowest in both legal ability and objectivity and bias.

"I'm honored to receive that vote," Poole said Tuesday. "I think [attorneys] go into that poll and take it very seriously."

Bales seemed dismissive in a telephone message Tuesday.

"I will not be swayed by a small percentage of disgruntled lawyers who do not get the desired outcome for their clients," Bales said. "The ultimate decision makers on my performance are the voters of Hamilton County."

The Chattanooga Bar Association mailed 747 questionnaires to its members in November and 128, or 17 percent, responded. Of those who responded, only 113 were valid for consideration in the poll, or 15 percent of the bar's membership.

The poll asks respondents to rate each judge with jurisdiction in Chattanooga in five categories: objective and unbiased, legal ability, good moral character, diligence and judicial temperament. Attorneys had four responses to choose from in each category: superior, satisfactory, unsatisfactory or no opinion.

Some categories, such as judges in the Social Security Administration, which holds local hearings, had respondent numbers as low as four, skewing percentages. Most local judge categories had a few dozen respondents.

Poole received between 82 and 92 percent superior ratings from more than 60 respondents in the five categories and no unsatisfactory ratings in any category.

The Criminal Court judge said he believes attorneys who took part in the poll rated judges objectively.

"I think most lawyers can remove themselves from being mad at a judge for a particular ruling," he said. "They look at whether people are there and respectful and courteous."

Bales received the lowest rating among his Sessions Court colleagues in the "objective and unbiased" category, with 33 out of 66 respondents, or half, ranking him "unsatisfactory," 26 as "satisfactory" and seven as "superior." Fifty-two percent of respondents also rated Bales' "legal ability" as unsatisfactory.

Previous surveys were conducted in 2005 and 2007. Poole and Sessions Court Judge Clarence Shattuck received high marks in the 2007 poll. Bales had a 28 percent unsatisfactory rating in 2007, according to Times Free Press archives.

Responses for General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon were not included in the 2011 poll. Moon died in January while he was still a sitting judge.

Bar Executive Director Lynda Minks Hood said the bar's board decided not to release Moon's figures out of respect for his family. The bar would not release such results whether the results were positive or negative, she said.

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