Oneida County Attorney Peter Rayhill will run for state Supreme Court spot: What to know

Edward Harris, Observer-Dispatch
·2 min read
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Oneida County Attorney Peter Rayhill has announced his candidacy for judgeship in the New York Supreme Court’s Fifth Judicial District.

Rayhill – a lifelong Republican and Oneida County resident – announced his candidacy Monday in a statement.

The state’s fifth Supreme Court district comprises Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego counties.

“The Supreme Court plays a vital role in our legal system,” Rayhill said in a statement. “I believe I have the experience, temperament, and qualifications necessary and essential to serve as a New York State Supreme Court judge.”

About Oneida County Attorney Peter Rayhill

Rayhill, who graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law, has practiced law in New York for over 34 years and has spent the past nine years as the attorney for Oneida County.

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Prior to joining the county, Rayhill was a partner at Martin and Rayhill PC, where he has worked in municipal and private contract law, real estate, and civil litigation in state and federal courts.

Rayhill also was counsel to Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority in the United States Supreme Court case United Haulers Association v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority.

In the decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a municipality can require all solid waste generated within its borders be delivered to a specific facility, even if it is owned and operated by a public authority, and that this does not violate the United States Constitution's Commerce Clause.

This precedent affirmed the "market participant" exception to the dormant Commerce Clause, which allows a state or local government to favor its own citizens and businesses when it is acting as a participant in the market, rather than as a regulator, Rayhill said in his announcement.

Rayhill is a past president of the Oneida County Bar Association and has served on the executive committee of the New York State Conference of Bar Leaders. He has served as a trustee of Mohawk Valley Community College, as a committee person on the Oneida County Republican Committee and is a former board member of the New Hartford Public Library and the Legal Aid Society.

“My commitment to legal conservative principles has served my clients well over the years, and I feel it is imperative that these principles are represented in all of our judges,” Rayhill said. “I look forward to campaigning throughout the 5th judicial district.”

Rayhill lives in New Hartford where he and his wife Ellen raised six children.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Oneida County Attorney to run for NY Supreme Court spot: What to know