Democratic View: County Judge candidate offers commitment to justice and community, and brings experience, to that office

Judicial elections capture relatively little attention compared to other branches of government. New York State’s notoriously complicated court system can be confusing to the general public, and judicial candidates cannot take political positions or promise how they will rule. Yet this branch of government can have a profound impact on our personal lives and our communities.

After over two decades on the bench, the retirement of Hon. John C. Rowley created a judicial vacancy in Tompkins County Court. I am running to fill that vacancy. Tompkins County has three County Court Judges who each serve a ten-year term. These judges preside over felony criminal cases, Family Court, and Surrogate’s Court. Tompkins judges also handle four specialty courts: Family Treatment Court, for parents at risk of or who have had their children removed due to substance use issues; Tompkins County Treatment Court, an alternatives-to-incarceration program; Sex Offender Court, which monitors convicted sex offenders as part of their sentence; and Integrated Domestic Violence Court, in which the same judge presides over both the Family Court case and pending criminal matters when domestic violence is involved.

I have served as the Principal Court Attorney to Tompkins County Court Judge Joseph R. Cassidy for the past ten years. A court attorney serves as the judge’s right hand. When the judge is on the bench, his or her court attorney works behind the scenes. We conduct extensive legal research for our judges and counsel them on the law. We draft decisions and orders for the judge’s review and approval. We often conduct pretrial conferences for the judge in an effort to settle cases, determine pre-trial legal issues, or resolve immediate issues in the case. Court attorneys also manage the scheduling of deadlines, motions, briefs and trials, helping to move the case along for the judge to ensure the swift and efficient provision of justice.

I have also served as a Town Justice in Lansing for the past six years. Lansing Town Court handles lower-level criminal cases, traffic violations, landlord-tenant matters, and small claims. I have the unique experience of having sat on the bench while also having worked alongside and in support of a judge in County Court.

To serve as a County Judge is to embrace a profound commitment to justice and community welfare. A county judge makes life-changing decisions such as which parent will have custody of their child, whether children will continue living with their parents or enter foster care, and whether a person convicted of a crime will spend years behind bars. Many, if not most, of the people with cases in Tompkins County Court are there because of systemic factors such as poverty, trauma, and mental health challenges. It is important that our judges have experience dealing with these issues in a trauma-informed manner.

I have a lifelong commitment to this community. I grew up in the City of Ithaca and have lived and worked throughout the county for over forty years. I currently live in Lansing with my husband, a woodworker, and our two children. Throughout my legal career, I have worked to strengthen communities by addressing critical issues like poverty, children’s welfare, intimate partner violence, and substance use. In my law practice, I primarily represented underserved clients who could not afford to pay an attorney, including criminal defendants and children in Family Court.

Though women constitute over half of the county’s population, five out of the six full-time judges—the three judges in Tompkins County Court and the two in Ithaca City Court—are men, and only five of the 19 town and village justices are women. The judicial branch of government deeply affects our lives at the most personal level, and the bench should reflect the demographics of our community. Judges with comparable lived experiences to those appearing in court foster a sense of representation, respect, visibility and understanding. That is why I aspire to be the first woman elected to the Tompkins County bench in over thirty years.

Serving as a county judge is a profound responsibility. I intend to use my experience, commitment, and compassion to ensure everyone receives a just and fair outcome in court.

Maura Kennedy-Smith is the Democratic candidate for Tompkins County Judge. A graduate of Ithaca High School, Cornell University and New York University School of Law, she currently serves as a Court Attorney in Tompkins County Court and as a Justice in Lansing Town Court. For more information about her campaign, please visit www.kennedysmithforjudge.com.