'Survivor' Georgia judge criticized for TV ads

ATLANTA - He made it to the final episode of &#34;Survivor: Marquesas,&#34; but &#34;Pappy&#34; English&#39;s recent commercials are getting criticism. <br> <br> Superior Court Judge Paschal A. English Jr., who was a finalist on the CBS reality series, is part of an advertising campaign for Atlanta Gas Light Co. touting the benefits of natural gas instead of propane. <br> <br> &#34;Pappy doesn&#39;t do propane,&#34; the ads say. <br> <br> The ads do not identify English as a judge, but some legal experts say judges shouldn&#39;t do advertising at all. Canons governing the behavior of judges prohibit them from using the prestige of their position to benefit private interests. <br> <br> In an interview with the Daily Report, an Atlanta legal newspaper, English said he doesn&#39;t care about the opinions of law professors &#34;in their ivory towers. <br> <br> &#34;The fact that someone knows me as a judge - does that preclude me from doing anything?&#34; English said. <br> <br> Atlanta Gas Light officials declined to say how much they paid English, and said his role as a judge didn&#39;t influence their decision to hire him. <br> <br> &#34;We did not hire him as a judge. We hired him because of his popularity,&#34; company president Isaac Blythers said. <br> <br> The state Judicial Qualifications Commission, which investigates judges&#39; conduct, declined to comment on English&#39;s advertisements. The commission has never issued an opinion on whether a judge can serve as a paid advertiser in his personal life, commission executive director Cheryl Custer said. <br>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/7/192237