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Charles Brown
Richard Sharp
Photo by Richard Hoffman
Brown wants second area judge
By KIM EATON
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
Charles C. Brown, Republican can
didate for Centre County Common Pleas
Court judge, said that in the future,
Centre County will need a second judge.
"The increase in the number of cases,
both criminal and civil, points toward
the need for a second judge," Brown said
in an interview.
Brown said that the second judgeship
is not necessarily needed at this time,
but that now is the time to start "the
necessary political machinery" moving.
"There are, presently no backlogs in
Centre County," Brown said. "But the
County Commissioners can't just snap
their fingers and get a second judge."
Brown said that even if it were'
necessary for a second judge, it could be
1979 or 1980 before the judgeship were
authorized.
"Perhaps it would be expedient to be a
part of proposed legislation now,"
Brown said, "so that the wheels of
government will be turning when we
need that second judge."
Brown said that he had much ex
perience as district attorney for the past
12 years.
"I have been in the courthouse on
Sharp favors the death penalty
By CHUCK SHEARER
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
Richard Sharp, Democratic candidate
for Centre County judge, said while he
favors making jail sentencing man
datory, he does not favor mandatory
death sentences for specific crimes.
Sharp said he agrees with the Supreme
Court ruling which said society. has the
right to demand a life for the protection
of the people in that society.
Sharp said, however, that the death
penalty is too strong a punishment to
make mandatory for any one crime.
"The death penalty is too severe to
rubber stamp on certain crimes," he
said. "The judge should be able to
evaluate any extenuating cir
cumstances," Sharp said.
He said "parole is more than just a
waiting period for prisoners before being
totally free of the prison system.
"Parole is the time for a prisoner to
prove himself in society," Sharp said.
He said he would give stiff sentences to
parole violators.
One of the major problems with
parole, Sharp said, is the lack of parole
officers in the county.
"The National Association of Parole
Officers says the average case load for a
parole officer should be 30 to 35 cases. In
Centre County the number is 60 to 65 per
parole officer," Sharp said. The county
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"My 12 years of experience as DA is a
wealth of experience unique to my
candidacy." he said.
Brown said that he favors the death
penalty.
"Although the effectiveness of it (the
death penalty) as a deterrent is con
stantly debated, I believe that capital
punishment is indeed a deterrent," he
said.
Brown said that there are documented
cases where criminals do not take
weapons with them for fear that if
cannot afford to hire more officers, he
said, so the officers have to do the best
job they can in spite of the work load.
Sharp also said the county has a
shortage of judges.
"As the county grows, he said, "there
is also a need for more judicial growth."
Judge Campbell sat before 850 cases
last year, Sharp said. The Supreme
court Administration Office said the
average trial judge in Pennsylvania sat
before an average of 285 cases last year,
he said. •
"We can safely estimate," Sharp said,
"that Judge Campbell worked two-and
a-half times more than the average
Pennsylvania judge."
He said the Supreme Court
Administration Office recommended
that Centre County be given top priority
for getting a new judge.
The state legislature killed a bill that
would have given the county a new judge
last year, Sharp said. The bill was killed
because other legislators tagged
amendments on it giving their own
districts new judges along with Centre
County, he said.
There is no question that Centre
County needs a new judge, Sharp said,
the question is will the legislators give
one when it is needed.
Sharp stressed, however, that he could
handle the current caseload.
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almost a daily basis and have kept
current with the practices and
procedures in Centre County's court
house," Brown said.
Brown said that as DA he was
responsible for administrating and
keeping current a court calendar of
almost 6,000 felonys and misdemeanors.
Brown, said he has only practiced law
half as long as his opponent, Democrat
Richard Sharp and through his job as
District Attorney his legal experience
has been intensified.
"I have the experience in both
criminal and civil law equal to my op
ponents in one half the time," Brown
said.
someone gets killed, they could receive
the death penalty.
"The public deserves the protection
that the death penalty can give it,"
Brown said.
Brown also said plea bargaining is a
"necessary evil."
"Plea bargaining is appropriate when
it advances the cause of criminal
justice," he said, "and not when it is
used to relieve the duties of the district
attorney, public defender, or any other
defense council."
Brown said that plea bargaining can
be useful from both the defendant's and
public's standpoint.
Brown said that if he is elected, he will
sever all ties with his private practice,
his former clients, and also with the
DA's office.
"It is something that absolutely must
be done," he said.
Brown said that he sees the courtroom
as a dynamic institution one that is
constantly changing.
"I am at an age where I've had the
necessary experience, yet retained the
vitality and involvement to be a leader in
the courtroom," he said.
Brown said that he has spent $lO,OOO to
$12,000 on his fall campaign.
Sharp said he is glad that the law is
now written so judges can give first time
marijuana offenders a second op
portunity.. He said he would like to see
the legislature remove the misdemeanor
convictions of the people prosecuted
under the old drug law.
"Many of these people have proven
themselves to be good citizens and
should not have criminal offense on their
record," Sharp said.
He said he would like to see a uniform
drug law that would eliminate the
conflicts between the different state
laws.
"It is ridiculous that a person would
receive a felony conviction for having
marijuana in Texas and only receive a
misdemeanor conviction in Penn
sylvania," Sharp said.
"A judge can not be a political
creature so a judge's race should .not be
a political contest," Sharp said.
The canons of judicial ethics have set
up guidelines which do not allow can
didates for judge to use sensational
advertisements or to run in tandem with
other candidates, he said.
"It's impossible, however, to run a
campaign without money," Sharp said.
He said his campaign will cost ap
proximately $lO,OOO, 90 per cent of which
will'come out of his own pocket.
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ollegian
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