The Bar Association of Erie County issued ratings for Erie County Court and New York state judicial candidates for the Sept. 14 primary election and Nov. 2 general election. They include Outstanding, Well Qualified, Qualified and Not Recommended.

New York State Supreme Court

Debra Bender ~ Qualified

Betty Calvo-Torres ~ Qualified

Stephen Cass ~ Outstanding

Deborah Chimes ~ Qualified

Howard Cohen ~ Well Qualified

John Collins ~ Qualified

Kevin Dillon ~ Outstanding

Eugene Fahey ~ Outstanding

Debra Givens ~ Qualified

Patricia Maxell ~ Qualified

Mark Montour ~ Qualified

E. Jeannette Ogden ~ Well Qualified

Catherine Nugent Panepinto ~ Qualified

Mark Rodgers ~ Well Qualified

Jeffrey Voelkl ~ Qualified

Paul Wojtaszek ~ Qualified

Erie County Court

Kenneth Case ~ Well Qualified

James McLeod ~ Qualified

Judicial candidates complete a written questionnaire and are rated on criteria including integrity, experience, professional ability, education, reputation, industry, temperament, fairness, statutory standards, attitude, punctuality, and knowledge of the law.

The New York State Women's Bar Association, Western New York chapter, also announced its ratings for candidates for New York State Supreme Court and Erie County Court.

As part of the overall rating, judicial candidates were rated Excellent, Very Good, Good and Poor in the areas of judicial temperament, reasoning ability and communication skills, legal experience and background for the position sought, and sensitivity to women's and community issues.

State Supreme Court candidates

Debra Bender

Qualified

Good: Judicial temperament

Good: Reasoning ability
and communication skills

Poor: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Good: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues

Betty Calvo-Torres

Highly Qualified
Very Good: Judicial temperament

Good: Reasoning ability and
communication skills

Good: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Excellent: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues

Deborah Chimes

Highly Qualified

Very Good: Judicial temperament

Good: Reasoning ability and
communication skills

Very Good: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Very Good: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues

Howard Cohen

Qualified

Good: Judicial temperament

Good: Reasoning ability and
communication skills

Very Good: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Good: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues

John Collins

Qualified

Fair: Judicial temperament

Good: Reasoning ability,
communication skills

Good: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Fair: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues

Kevin Dillon, J.S.C.

Outstanding

Excellent: Judicial temperament

Very Good: Reasoning ability,
communication skills

Excellent: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Very Good: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues

Eugene Fahey, J.S.C.

Outstanding

Excellent: Judicial temperament

Excellent: Reasoning ability,
communication skills

Excellent: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Very Good: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues

Debra Givens

Qualified

Very Good: Judicial temperament

Good: Reasoning ability,
communication skills

Good: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Very Good: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues

Mark Montour

Qualified

Very Good: Judicial temperament

Good: Reasoning ability,
communication skills

Poor: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Good: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues

Catherine Nugent-Panepinto

Qualified

Good: Judicial temperament

Good: Reasoning ability,
communication skills

Good: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Good: Sensitivity to community and women's issues

E. Jeannette Ogden

Outstanding

Very Good: Judicial temperament

Very Good: Reasoning ability,
communication skills

Excellent: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Excellent: Sensitivity to community and women's issues

Mark Rodgers

Highly Qualified

Very Good: Judicial temperament

Very Good: Reasoning ability,
communication skills

Very Good: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Good: Sensitivity to community and women's issues

Jeffrey Voelkl

Highly Qualified

Very Good: Judicial temperament

Very Good: Reasoning ability,
communication skills

Very Good: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Very Good: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues

Paul Wojtaszek

Qualified

Good: Judicial temperament

Very Good: Reasoning ability,
communication skills

Good: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Good: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues

Erie County Court candidates

Kenneth Case

Highly Qualified

Very Good: Judicial temperament

Very Good: Reasoning ability,
communication skills

Very Good: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Good: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues

James McLeod

Highly Qualified

Very Good: Judicial temperament

Very Good: Reasoning ability,
communication skills

Very Good: Legal experience and
background for position sought

Very Good: Sensitivity to community
and women's issues