Sullivan gets a second county court judge
-- Ledina sworn inBy TOM RUE
MONTICELLO - Upon the swearing in of gubernatorial appointee judge Burton Ledina, February 5th became "the first day that Sullivan County had two county judges," said retired chief judge Lawrence H. Cooke during the recent swearing-in. Cooke gave it as his opinion that the day was a milestone for the people of the county.
Attended by over 100 well-wishers as Cooke prompted him with the words of the oath, Ledina pledged to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States... and to well and truly handle the tasks that are allotted to me as county judge" as his wife, Harriet Ledina, stood by.
Before losing an election in November to Wurtsboro lawyer Frank J. LaBuda, who was sworn into office on December 29th, Ledina was appointed last spring by Gov. George Pataki. The second county judgeship was created by the NYS Legislature "during a midnight vote" last summer, said family court judge Mark M. Meddaugh, who added that the vote might well have come down differently for Sullivan had the question not been voted upon late at night, with only a few Assembly members and senators present.
The ceremony was presided over administrative judge Harold Hughes of the Third Judicial District, who said he met with the county's four judges earlier in the day to discuss the new division of labor. "The delays in processing cases is going to disappear. Judge LaBuda has already assured me that the backlog of criminal cases is going to disappear by the end of May," Hughes said.
LaBuda heralded Ledina's recent appointment "a good day for Sullivan County," and offered to assist Ledina in any way possible. "My door is always open to you. My telephone number can always be reached," LaBuda said.
Supreme court justice Anthony T. Kane sat with the other jurists in front of the main court room, as each offered brief extemporaneous remarks. Announced one day before, the swearing-in ceremony was evidently thrown together at the last minute, with both the invocation and benediction by Rabbi Irwin Tanenbaum of Temple Shalom.
Court functions "divided 50/50"
Ledina said that in the meeting with Hughes, it was made clear that Ledina and LaBuda are peers in county court, and will need to work flexibly and pull together. "All of the functions will be divided 50/50. That doesn't necessarily mean it will remain that way. We're both being assigned to cover some responsibilities of family court," said Ledina in a phone interview the evening of his induction.
Ledina promised to help speed cases at family court, and that parties involved with proceedings in both courts will be followed by the same judge. In the past, an array of visiting judges from nearby counties have assisted when needed.
The fact that Ledina's wife, Harriet Ledina, is a child services casework supervisor at the Sullivan County Department of Social Services (DSS) could be problematic, Ledina admitted, in some rare cases in family court. Either Meddaugh or LaBuda would be able to handle legal cases which Harriet Ledina supervised at DSS, judge Ledina said.
"I'm just excited to be able to serve on the bench -- whether it be family court, county court, or supreme court for that matter. I couldn't think of a thing I'd rather be doing," Ledina added.
LaBuda will keep his present chambers at the county court house. Ledina will be housed in newer but comparable offices in the government center annex.
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