Lewis County judge candidates to face off in Republican and Conservative primaries

Jun. 19—LOWVILLE — The two candidates vying for the Republican and Conservative nominations in the race for Lewis County judge have parallels in their lives and careers, but they approach the bench from two different perspectives.

Incumbent Daniel R. King and Caleb J. Petzoldt work together in the county's justice system — Mr. King as judge and Mr. Petzoldt as assistant district attorney. They will face off in the June 28 primary.

Both grew up and attended high school in Lewis County. Both are married, both have children and both are dedicated to their legal professions.

From there, however, their backgrounds diverge.

After earning his degree from Albany Law School, Mr. King began practicing in 1992. He worked over the next 20 years as a private attorney at various firms rising to partner in one; at two different points in his career as assistant public defender and defender; and started his own firm — all in Lewis County and Boonville — before he was elected judge in 2012,

Mr. King said his attorney work had him representing people in family, criminal and surrogate courts, which provided him with a strong foundation and familiarity from which to build as judge, especially because he estimates more than 85% of the job is spent on family court cases.

In Lewis County, unlike in larger counties including neighboring Jefferson and St. Lawrence, there is only one judge to preside over the three courts.

"I really enjoyed representing people in family court (as an attorney) and I've really enjoyed presiding over family court because there's a sense you can help people out. You see them in really bad situations but you work to help them out of those situations," Mr. King said.

On the criminal court bench, Mr. King said he has heard "thousands of cases" and presided over a number of trials, although trials are relatively rare in the county.

As an attorney, he had represented many of the people or their family members who have appeared in criminal court since he has been judge, but he said those ties have not come into play in his decision-making.

"I have no difficulty in being fair and impartial. I have represented a lot of people. I always disclose if I have represented someone's family member and tell them I can be fair and impartial and that I'm here to take what has been proven by evidence and decide only then," he said.

Later in the interview he added, "I am compassionate, but as judge, I'm the punisher. Don't confuse compassion for leniency."

He said he does not enjoy putting people in jail or having to remove a child from a parent and strives every day to "reserve making a decision until I have heard everything about a case."

Terick R. Goodwin's vacated guilty plea — to two counts of sexual assault against a child — followed his successful appeal based on Mr. King's "coercive" description of the potential sentence Goodwin would receive if he went to trial and lost. Mr. King said as a judge, he is not allowed to comment on specific cases but in general, decisions by the court of appeals offer learning opportunities and that the role of the appellate division is very important in the judicial process.

He said he originally ran for judge largely to take his service to the community to the next level.

"I think I've earned my reelection. I think I've worked hard for 10 years and prior to that I worked hard for 20 years," Mr. King said. "My job is judge — that's my job, that's not who I am. I'm Dan King. I am a judge and I love it. I love going to work every day."

For Mr. Petzoldt, returning to Lewis County after working as a federal prosecutor in Western New York and an Onondaga County prosecutor focused on drug trafficking in Central New York was always a goal, as was working to become the county's judge. He said he always anticipated "running for this opening at this time."

"I think that our criminal justice system is at a particular crossroads and what the system (in Lewis County) really needs is somebody who's fought for victims, worked alongside law enforcement and really understands what goes into that process ... A lot of times in our criminal justice system, the victims really are being lost," he said. "It's really easy for defense lawyers to forget that somebody's home was broken into, somebody's sense of security was violated, but as a prosecutor, I talk to those people every single day. I see how much it upsets them. I'm not going to forget about that when I get up on the bench."

After graduating from Georgetown University School of Law, Mr. Petzoldt started his career almost 15 years ago as the assistant district attorney in Lewis County under the current District Attorney Leanne K. Moser, who he considers a mentor,

Mr. Petzoldt said that he has several ideas to improve the efficiency of Lewis County Court if he is elected judge.

Noting criminal court cases in the county are backed up "simply because court isn't being held enough," Mr. Petzoldt said he would like to increase the number of criminal court days from two every month to three or more sessions weekly.

He said bail reform has made it more important for cases to be heard quickly.

"More defendants are not in custody and they have no incentive to resolve their case because they're out without bail," he said, adding that the current schedule was probably sufficient when it began, but "for 2022, it is just no longer efficient."

More available court dates will also allow cases adjourned in one court session to be put back on the calendar in a matter of days rather than a month or more later, which is, to Mr. Petzoldt, an unnecessary delay.

As judge he would also create a "motion schedule" following state procedural law starting with motion proceedings set "immediately upon arraignment."

To ensure none of the changes put more burden on the county court staff — which both candidates praised — Mr. Petzoldt plans to learn more about what they do and the requirements they must meet to find anything "that could be done up on the bench and should be done so that I can make their jobs easier."

"The reason (these changes) are important is that if you unfortunately become a victim in the criminal justice system, you'll probably ask yourself why it takes you 18 to 24 months to reach a resolution and that's really frustrating for folks," Mr. Petzoldt said.

Another change Mr. Petzoldt would like to make is to put the reasons for sentences on the record in criminal court "because ultimately the public has a right to know what's going on in a jurist's mind" when a sentence is pronounced.

In family court, Mr. Petzoldt believes his "fresh perspective" after returning to the county from living in the Syracuse area will add value and ensure that "everyone goes into court on equal footing."

Skills gained and lessons learned conducting "proactive" investigations on narcotics and gang-related cases will serve the people of Lewis County well in family court because it has taught him that "things don't always look like they do at first glance" and the importance of the details which "can often dictate the outcomes of a case."

He said family court cases are "ultimately investigations in that most of the proceedings are to determine what's in the best interest of the child ... So as a judge, you should be digging into the details and getting to know these individuals who are before you."

Because fighting for victims "is passionately ingrained" in him as a prosector, he is aware it will be a challenge at first to get used to taking the victim into consideration as part of the case instead of being a "passionate advocate" for them. But because justice is the ultimate goal, he believes he is up to the challenge.

In addition to this county-wide race, town of Diana Republicans will also be selecting two of three candidates — Carl D. Pierce, Kelly Ritz or Richard N. Malbeuf — to be on the town council.

People registered in the Republican or Conservative parties can vote in the primaries, and absentee ballots can still be picked up at the county Board of Elections, 7550 N. State St., until June 27.

Ballots must be returned in person at a poll site or postmarked by June 28 and received by the elections board by July 5.

Early voting, which began on Saturday and will continue until June 26, will be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Lewis County Jefferson Community College Education Center, 7395 East Road, except on Tuesday and Thursday when it will be open from noon to 8 p.m.

In-person voting on June 28 will be held from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.