HELP WANTED – Do you or someone you know like courts, cops, and gavels? Apply today for Wawarsing Town Judge: dispense justice among your peers and neighbors, all while wearing a flashy black robe (robe not supplied). Qualifications: 18 years and up, town resident. Education, training, and prior experience preferred, but not required. Submit applications to town clerk.

We may be closer than we think to spotting such an ad in upcoming editions of the Ellenville Journal since the town board of Wawarsing voted to authorize Town Clerk Jane Eck to advertise for the position of town justice at the last town board meeting. The advertisement means that anyone, as long as he or she resides within the town's borders and is eighteen or older, may apply for the position which was recently left vacant after the passing of Justice William O'Brien in February. The board passed the motion to advertise 4 to 1, with Councilman John Gavaris voting against the advertisement, citing that the town and village have both skipped advertising for positions to which they would appoint council members or trustees, respectively. Eck feels similarly to Gavaris, as she doesn't believe the advertisement is necessary.

"I have never, in all the history [of the town] — and I've spoken to other towns — ever heard of an elected position being advertised. I definitely do not think that was the right thing to do, to advertise that position," says Eck. "Everybody in the whole community knew that we needed another judge, so why would you advertise it? It costs money to advertise. And of course, the judge wasn't even dead a month, and the board authorized [the advertisement] to be done." Eck says that the New York State's Association of Towns told her that a judge did not have to be replaced immediately unless there was a complaint from the public or if the sitting judge couldn't handle the workload.

Town Justice Wayne Lonstein has expressed that he can, indeed, handle the town court's workload, and shares Eck's sentiment, going a step further by saying that the town board could simply not appoint a new judge and wait until November to let town residents elect a new justice themselves.

"The town supervisor asked me [about appointing a new justice] and I candidly said there's no rush whatsoever, there's no need," says Lonstein. "We'll be just fine until the election happens."

Lonstein says that there's no backlog or emergency situation in Wawarsing's courts that would necessitate such an appointment.

Supervisor Ed Jennings, however, believes that even though the town board doesn't have to fill the vacancy right away, there is similarly no reason not to appoint a new judge, and that doing so would benefit the town.

"We don't have to have one right away, but if the position is open, why not fill it? It's supposed to be non-political, and this is the way we're going to approach it. The best candidates, hopefully, will come through," says Supervisor Jennings.

"What happens if Lonstein should get sick, or if he goes on vacation, or for some reason he just can't fulfill his duties," asks Jennings by way of explaining the town board's reasoning for advertising the position. "Then we don't have a judge at all."

Village Justice Matt Parker, who is interested in applying for the Town Justice position, has a similar viewpoint to that of Supervisor Jennings.

"I think it's unusual that they handle it this way, but that doesn't mean that it's wrong," says Parker. "As it stands now, the state police and the sheriff's department, when they cover the town of Wawarsing, have no areas where they can secure individuals until they can bring them to arraignment. So whatever judge is available gets a phone call…so if Judge Lonstein's not available, they call me."

According to Parker, the requirement is that, should the jurisdiction's judge be unavailable — in Wawarsing's case, Justice Lonstein — they then go to the nearest available court that abuts the jurisdiction where an offender is arrested, "so it's either me or the town of Rochester that usually gets a call," he says. Parker says that because there are no restrictions keeping the village justice from sitting as town justice simultaneously, he intends on trying to make his status as Wawarsing's judicial backup official.

"I'm not familiar with the town of Wawarsing's caseload, so Judge Lonstein's certainly much more qualified to make that decision," says Parker. "But I attended the meeting when the board was talking about the idea, and I plan on submitting my application to them."

Other names that have been circulating as potential candidates to take up the position include Charles Dechon and Michael Siegel.

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