To the editor:

Unlike the federal level, trial court judges in the State of New York are elected. Such elections can introduce irrelevancies into the selection process—party-line voting, vague arguments for “progress” versus its alleged opposite and issues not germane to the administration of justice, such as whether one candidate’s lawn signs are or are not biodegradable.

New York does not, of course, elect its most senior appellate judges—who are there to correct the errors of their elected inferiors—thus showing that there are qualities more important for the judicial role than politics within New York’s constitutional system.

The most important quality for a trial court judge is experience. Such judges have extremely varied caseloads and conduct bench and jury trials, including criminal trials, even at the town court level. As such, there is far more thinking on one’s feet than at the appellate level, and experience across all aspects of the law, criminal as well as civil, is key to thinking on one’s feet.

In this election, one town justice candidate stands out for experience, and that is John De Chiaro. His 46 years as a practicing attorney and eight as a Pelham town justice are unmatchable.

As important, De Chiaro is a veteran criminal defense attorney. Town justices are authorized to conduct criminal trials for certain offenses and can sentence convicted defendants to up to a year’s imprisonment for misdemeanors. If one thing was obvious to me after my first-year criminal law course, it is that the power of the state as prosecutor, even if the prosecutor is well intentioned, is such that the accused must be accorded all of our system’s rightful safeguards. Having a town justice versed in representing criminal defendants will only enhance the administration of justice in Pelham.

Although many former prosecutors transition well to civil litigation, it is more difficult to do the reverse given the specialized and detailed nature of criminal law and procedure (and all the more so when a town justice has a separate, private professional life). The stakes of making errors are much higher in the criminal context, given that a person’s liberty is at stake, and that if an error is made and a conviction reversed on appeal, the costs of pursuing justice further can be significant. Given the nature of the town court’s docket as having both civil and criminal cases, both town justices should have real criminal law experience, and not from learning it on the job.

I appreciated Pelham Town Justice Adam Kagan’s service as a trustee for the Village of Pelham, particularly his ability to evaluate particular development projects and payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements on their own merits or lack thereof. I do not question his ability to serve our community further in an appropriate role (including village trustee). For town justice, however, it is clear that John De Chiaro is the right choice for the town and those who come before the town court.

Arthur Long

165 Boulevard