County bar ranks its own

By By Leada Gore, Hartselle Enquirer
On the eve of the primaries, members of the Morgan County Bar Association are weighing in on their feeling about who should fill the district judge posts.
While the bar does not endorse candidates, it does poll its members on how they feel about their fellow attorneys who are seeking elected office. Fifty-four members of the Morgan County Bar completed the survey. Members were asked to rank candidates as highly qualified, qualified, not qualified or no opinion.
In the race for District Court Judge Place One, Republicans Buzz Brown and Brent Craig will face off in the June 3 primary with the winner facing Democrat Larry Madison. Brown received two highly qualified votes, four qualified vote, 36 not qualified votes and 12 no opinions. His opponent, Craig, received 18 highly qualified votes, 28 qualified votes, five not qualified votes and three no opinions.
Madison, who faces no primary opposition, received 41 highly qualified votes, eight qualified, three not qualified and two no opinions.
Like fellow Democrat Madison, Tim Kyle received the highest number of highly qualified votes. Kyle, who faces no primary opposition, is seeking the District Court Judge Place Three post. Forty-three ranked him as highly qualified, five as qualified, four as not qualified and two as no opinion.
On the GOP ticket, Charles Langham received 16 highly qualified votes, 17 qualified and 19 not qualified votes. Two had no opinion. Langham was appointed by Gov. Bob Riley and is currently serving as the District Court Judge in Place One.
Huel Harris received four highly qualified votes, 28 qualified, 16 not qualified and six had no opinion. The third candidate in the race, Catherine Phillips Halbrooks, received three highly qualified votes, 16 qualified vote and 31 not qualified votes. Four had no opinion.