Ten candidates for five open Kings County Civic Court judgeships and one 6th Circuit Court judgeship participated in a forum Monday that was marked with discussions of criminal justice reform and court system improvements.
Dozens of local leaders and residents attended the forum which the Ernest Skinner Political Association in partnership with City Councilman Jumaane Williams (Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood) held at the Clarendon Road Church, 3304 Clarendon Road, in Flatbush.
The candidates at the panel included incumbent Civil Court Judges Frederik Arriaga and Robin K. Sheares, who are running for re-election, as well as Rupert Barry, Patria Frais-Colon, Ellen Edwards, Connie Melendez, Derefim Neckles, Hemalee Patel, and David Pepper.
“There are several problem solving courts, but half the problem is that in civil court it is slow to take affect. So what’s happening now in civil court, the number one thing that is happening in civil court is we’re trying to get attorneys for people. That is a reform every body has been working on for years, and years, and maybe in another few years it will come to pass,” said Judge Sheares.
Frias-Colon, the current Brooklyn Borough Chief for the New York City Law Department’s Family Court Division, went on to note that a lack of resources and personnel can sometimes hinder progress as well.
“I have ensured at my position as Borough Chief, to put a prosecutor in the community justice centers, so that when cases are called, they can be handled and we can address them. At the Brownsville Community Justice Center, we are just waiting now for a judge to be assigned there but we have a building, we have programs, we have youth court, which is sorely need in our Brownsville community,” said Frias-Colon.
The panel then went on to discuss their individual plans to make a difference in the civil court system through their specific administration of justice, after being posed the question by chairman of the club, Ernest Skinner himself.
“I have spent so many years in a courtroom and what I deeply understand is something many people forget, including judges and lawyers, that is when people come into the courtroom it’s about them. It’s their stories that are important. It’s the litigates, and their problems and their stories, that is why the courts are there, to help litigants resolve their conflicts,” said Pepper.
Judge Arriaga, who currently works as the Screening Treatment & Enhancement Part (STEP) Program judge or STEP judge, cited his work in healing and transforming lives of drug addicts across the borough as his contribution to change in the court system.
“I make a difference but it’s the people who ultimately change their lives. I’m here asking for support because I want to continue helping people transform their lives and go on to happy and healthy futures,” said Arriaga.
Barry, one of the four candidates for civil court judge in the 6th Municipal Court District, believes that real change comes from how judges treat the defendants who come into their court.
“I believe that one way I can make a difference is remembering that the people who come to court could be me. Sometimes if you can’t relate to the fact that that person could be you, you treat them differently. Constantly remembering that, will make a difference and I believe it’s one step at a time that you change the system,” said Barry.
The panel also discussed the diversity of the current Brooklyn civil court that has both Latinos, blacks, women and men serving. However, Patel, a candidate for the 6th Municipal Court District, was quick to declare that a win for her would mean the first for a South-Asian individual in the history of Kings County.
“I would be the first [South-Asian judge], if elected and I would be the first to break that barrier,” said Patel.
The Democratic primary is slated for Sept. 12. While only residents in the 6th Municipal District can vote in one of the candidates in that district, the chief administrative court system can assign the eventual winner throughout the civil, supreme and family court unified state system.
Voters boroughwide are allowed to vote for 5 of the Democratic candidates for the countywide civil court judgeship.
