The 2008 Smith County Judicial Poll is out. It was based on anonymous comments submitted by Smith County attorneys. The three Justices of the Tyler court all come in with scores in the range of 3.83 to 4.19 out of 5.
The entries were tabulated by a local CPA, Barbara Bass, who just happens to be Tyler’s newly-elected mayor. I have no idea how many ballots went out, or how many were returned. I don’t vouch for the poll’s reliability from a statistical standpoint. I see some trends, but what they really mean, if anything, is hard to say. For example, the federal judiciary seems to be more highly ranked than the Tyler court, the Tyler court more highly than the state district courts, and the district courts more highly ranked than the county courts-at-law. Why is that? Your thoughts are as good as mine. I present the poll with the Parcells caveat: “It is what it is.”
