On July 17, 2008, the Memphis Bar Association released the results of its Judicial Qualification Poll for the candidates in the contested judicial race for Criminal Court, Division 6. The poll was sent to attorneys in Memphis and Shelby County, including both members and non-members of the MBA.  378 attorneys responded.

The poll asked attorneys to rate a candidate as either “highly qualified,” “qualified,” or “not qualified”.  If more than one candidate was rated as “highly qualified,” the attorney was asked to select the one candidate he/she felt was best qualified for the position.  If an attorney did not know or had no opinion about a candidate’s qualifications, he/she was asked to mark “no opinion.”

	Highly Qualified	Qualified	Not Qualified	No Opinion	Best Qualified
Latonya Sue Burrow	24	77	107	157	8
Claiborne H. Ferguson	22	89	84	164	12
Michael G. Floyd	18	42	90	208	11
John T. Fowlkes, Jr.	278	47	5	44	142

The Memphis Bar Association has conducted a poll of candidates in contested judicial elections for more than 15 years, in the belief that Shelby County attorneys are in the best position to know a candidate’s qualifications and that the bar association has a responsibility to inform the voting public of attorneys’ opinions about the candidates.

If you have questions about this poll, please contact Anne Fritz, MBA Executive Director, at 527-3573 or afritz@memphisbar.org .

Established in 1874, the Memphis Bar Association is a voluntary association of attorneys and judges upholding high standards of integrity in the legal profession through continuing professional education, supporting legal services to all in the community, and educating the public about law and the administration of justice.