Judge's character is sterling

This is in reference to the Dec. 5 articles about the senior superior court judge system and Judge Bernard Mulherin.

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At the outset, I want to disclose that I am a practicing attorney, and have known Judge Mulherin and his family as friends for most of my life. Therefore, I am hardly unbiased in this matter. However, anyone who knows Judge Mulherin as well as I know him could not possibly be unbiased when it comes to commenting on his character.

While I have not reviewed any documentation or court records referenced in the articles, nor have I spoken to Judge Mulherin about this matter, I must state that, in my opinion, Judge Mulherin is one of Richmond County's finest judges and has a reputation of being one of the hardest-working judges we have. We are extremely fortunate to have him still serving the citizens of not only Richmond County but also the state. There is simply no way that Judge Mulherin would ever claim compensation for work he did not perform. It is simply not in the man to knowingly commit such an act.

Whether the senior Superior Court judge system is economically beneficial to the taxpayers is obviously fair game for a newspaper article. However, to attack the character and reputation of Judge Mulherin under the guise of such an article was inappropriate. The Augusta Chronicle owes Judge Mulherin an apology.

Jim Ellison, Augusta

--From the Sunday, December 19, 2004 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle