Attorney says Sanford Church has proven he can fulfill role of judge for several county courts

Posted 2 November 2017 at 7:59 am

Editor:

I am submitting this letter for my support and endorsement of Sanford Church for County Judge. The short answer is very simple to this writer and that is Sandy’s years of experience.

A candidate for Orleans County Court runs the following Courts: (1) County Court where felony cases are heard and a small amount of civil cases (2) Family Court, which includes new legislation of raise the age for various criminal cases, juvenile delinquency cases, and child protection cases (3) Supreme Court which includes all matrimonial matters and a vast majority of civil litigation (4) Surrogate’s Court and then several boutique courts that all require experience.

I was admitted to practice in 2005, and since this time regularly worked with Sandy on a wide variety of cases. We have been adversaries many times over the years and there’s been many times when we have had common positions. This includes complex criminal cases, matrimonial matters, and countless Family Court cases. In my early years as an attorney, I would (and still often times do) watch Sandy to see how he handles difficult situations and complicated legal questions. Nothing ever seems to rattle Sandy and again I attribute to this to his years of experience in our local legal system.

As Judge, I am expecting Sandy to continue the same approach. When a complicated case comes before him, I would expect the Court to guide counsel in how to resolve matters in a fair and amicable manner.

Often times, cases must proceed to trial and I have complete confidence that Sandy will do a masterful job as judge again based on his years of experience. I always envision a judge to an umpire in baseball and that they have to call balls and strikes, along with knowing the ground rules for each respective park, along with knowing the rule book.

Any judge must call balls and strikes as they must know the law of evidence along with how evidence flows within trials. I’ve tried my fair share of cases with Mr. Church over the years and I have complete confidence that he knows the laws of both criminal and civil evidence.

The ground rules of a case would be the substantive laws underlying procedure. Civil, Criminal, and Surrogate’s Courts all have their own procedure. Procedure is not something that you learn on the fly, it is something you learn by actively practicing in those respective areas of law. Finally, the rule book, would be a working command and expertise of the underlying law such as the Penal Law, Domestic Relations Law, or Family Court Law. I am without a doubt that Sandy is indeed an expert in the areas of law required to be County Judge.

As stated above, experience is the most important factor and on election day, I am asking you to please vote for experience in Sanford A. Church for Orleans Judge.

Thank you.

Brian Degnan

Batavia