NYS Supreme Court bench needs more women

To the Editor:

Linda Blom Johnson is a [New York State] Supreme Court trial attorney. I am a Supreme Court trial attorney. We are both women. We each have clients who are women. Some of my women clients feel intimidated by the overwhelming presence of men in power.

I'd like to tell such clients that they can rest assured that male judges understand the female perspective, but I don't always have a basis for such a statement. More women on the Supreme Court bench would help. How?

Casual observation and anecdote informs me that judges speak with judges. Sometimes they lunch together and sometimes they socialize together. Often enough, they consult with each other about problem cases.

Having another woman on the bench would provide a greater opportunity for a woman’s perspective to be more widely available to others. There are some wonderful men on the bench, and it could be of great benefit if they could hear from a female professional peer on their own level about topics such as motherhood, pay disparity, discrimination, and unequal bargaining positions among other issues facing women today.

In the Third Judicial District, there are 15 male Supreme Court justices and only three female Supreme Court Justices. Linda Blom Johnson is running to become the next Supreme Court Justice in the Third Judicial District.

Professionally I know and I support Linda Blom Johnson for all of the qualifications that she lists at  www.LindaForJudge.com and because of her outstanding human qualities. Please join me in supporting Linda by voting early or on Nov. 5, 2019.

Ingrid Effman

West Sand Lake

Editor’s note: Linda Blom Johnson is running for Supreme Court Justice in the 3rd Judicial District on the Republican and Conservative lines. The supreme court is the bottom tier in New York State’s three-tiered court system.