Oneonta city judge to retire
Mar. 26—An Oneonta City Court judge has announced she will retire after 18 years on the bench.
Judge Lucy P. Bernier announced in a Friday media release she will retire when her term expires at the end of this year. She was the first woman to serve as Oneonta City Court judge.
"It has been an honor and privilege to serve the community as judge, and I am grateful for the trust the people of Oneonta placed in me," Bernier said in the release. "I've worked hard to make sure each person who came before me was accorded their legal and constitutional rights, that they were treated respectfully and fairly, and that fair and just decisions were rendered."
Bernier was appointed to the bench in 2004 for a six-year term by then-Mayor Kim Muller. In 2009 Bernier was elected to a six-year term and she was re-elected in 2015 to another six-year term.
According to the release, Bernier began her legal career in New York City in 1980. Since 1981 she has been engaged in the private practice of law at Pantaleoni & Bernier, believed to be the first mother-daughter law firm in New York state, concentrating in the areas of family law, real estate, adoptions, and wills and estates. From 1982 through 2015 she worked as a law guardian and attorney for the child, representing children in divorce cases, child abuse and neglect matters, and custody proceedings.
From 1992-1997 she served as sssistant district attorney for Otsego County under then-District Attorney Michael Coccoma. As part of her duties, she coordinated the Otsego County Child Sexual Abuse Task Force.
From 1998-2003 she served as Oneonta City prosecutor. She was the first woman appointed to serve in that position.
