Schneer appointed County Judge (from the Daily Freeman)

Governor taps Dem candidate to be new Ulster County judge


Thursday, June 18, 2009
By KYLE WIND
Freeman staff
KINGSTON — Deborah Schneer, a town of Rochester justice and the Democratic candidate in this fall’s election for Ulster County judge, has been appointed to the county bench by Gov. David Paterson.
Schneer is to succeed J. Michael Bruhn, who retired in April, and would be the first woman to serve as the county’s judge.
Her appointment could be held up, however, because it requires confirmation by the state Senate, which has not conducted any business since an attempted Republican takeover of the chamber last week and which now finds itself gridlocked with 31 members on each side of the political aisle.
Ulster County Democratic Chairman Julian Schreibman said he’s hoping for a quick confirmation of Schneer, but he conceded it’s "difficult to know for sure" how soon she will be able to preside over County Court proceedings.
Schneer, in a telephone interview on Wednesday, said she was "thrilled and honored to have received the appointment by the governor to the important post of county judge."
Schneer was nominated by county Democrats on June 8 to run for the judgeship, which has a 10-year term and a current salary of $131,400 per year. She was chosen over New Paltz Town Justice Jonathan Katz and Shandaken Town Justice Michael Miranda.
The following day, Schreibman called the governor’s office to recommend Schneer be appointed to the judgeship for the remainder of 2009.
The winner of the November election — in which the Republican candidate is former Ulster County District Attorney Donald A. Williams — will begin serving on Jan. 1, 2010.
Williams was nominated by county Republicans on June 1 over town of Ulster Justice Marsha Weiss and attorney Michael Kavanagh Jr.
Schneer, 50, has been one of Rochester’s two town justices since 2006 and has had a law practice in Rosendale since 2003.
As county judge, she said, she would work to ensure all parties get a "level playing field" and "appropriate and fair experience" in the court system.
Schneer graduated from Tuft’s University in 1980 and New York University Law School in 1984, and she began her legal career with Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York. She spent a year with the state Department of Law in 1987, then returned to Prisoners’ Legal Services as a staff attorney and later managing attorney. She left that post in 1998 and began a part-time practice while also working part-time for the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.
Ulster County Democrats have described Schneer as having "extensive experience as a civil rights lawyer and an advocate for the poorest and most vulnerable members of society."
Schneer said she lives with her partner and 4-year-old son in High Falls.
URL: http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2009/06/18/news/doc4a39b3f0c457e888978505.prt
© 2009 DailyFreeman.com, a Journal Register <http://www.journalregister.com/> Property