'Your fate is in the hands of a barely literate judge' and other tales of NNY justice

Remember that New York Times' series on New York state's dysfunctional court system?

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise offers a followup on the situation in northern New York counties.

Local judges, some of whom weren't even lawyers, complained about lack of training from the state and lack of resources.

Kevin Nichols, a lawyer from Malone, complained that a town justice in St. Lawrence County sent his client to jail in 1998 based on 'secret' evidence. A probation officer brought in documents to the courtroom to show the man had violated probation.

But when Nichols asked to examine the paperwork, as is the defense’s right, the judge refused, he said. 'When I pointed it out that it was inherently wrong in this country to send someone to jail based on secret government documents,' Nichols recalled, 'he told me to be quiet or he’d send me to jail in contempt of court.'

The basic problem is that the simple lack of qualified people willing to do the job. The village justice in Saranac Lake spends over 20 hours a week on cases but earns a mere $10,034 a year, notes The Enterprise.

A former public defender in Franklin County who served for 15 years, Alexander Lesyk, said he believes the law has gotten too complex leaving many justices ill-suited for their responsibilities. He said the judges he’s come across have run a wide spectrum, from thoughtful and fair, to those that seemed mentally unstable.

'The people who take the job, for the most part, take the job because they want to help the community,' Lesyk said, 'but that’s perhaps why we need to change the job. Because someone will get the job for no other reason than they’re willing to do it.

'Quite honestly, I have appeared in front of judges in Franklin County who had trouble reading,' Lesyk added.