For example, Olsen and the plaintiff’s attorney agreed that the petition had to be filed before the election to be valid. But the judge then agreed with Olsen that it could not be valid until Olsen assumed the office of Commonwealth Attorney. (Can you say: Catch 22?)

The judge also endorsed Olsen’s contention that only another candidate for the same office in the same election had standing to file the petition. In other words, if you are unopposed for the office, you can ignore the qualifications required by law.

As Mary Elizabeth Lease once observed: “We have a system that cloaks rascals in robes and honesty in rags.”