Statement of Judge David Zuckerman, Candidate for Re-Election as New Castle Town Justice

Three candidates for two town justice positions
See a 15-minute video of the three candidates speaking at the LWV Candidates Night in “Read more…”
Friday, November 4, 2011
by David Zuckerman

Editor’s Note: Two incumbent New Castle town justices, Democrats David Zuckerman and Douglas Kraus, will stand for reelection on November 8, 2011.  Kevin O. Moore, a Republican, is running as a candidate for town justice.  Below is a statement from Mr. Zuckerman.  See also statements from Messrs. Kraus and Moore, through links below.

I am New Castle Town Justice David Zuckerman.  I have had the privilege to serve as your local judge for the past four years.

I have been an active participant in the justice system for almost 30 years - as a prosecutor, in private practice and as a judge.  I started my career in the early 1980’s as an Assistant District Attorney and I can tell you that business was booming.  Crack had just hit the streets and it was tearing the heart out of hundreds of families.  I handled thousands of cases, from simple misdemeanors to homicides.

From the District Attorney’s office, I opened my own law practice.  Over the past 25 years, I have concentrated on litigating criminal cases in Federal and State courts.  Prior to being elected your Town Justice, I served as New Castle Town Prosecutor for 16 years.  As your Town Prosecutor, I represented the Town of New Castle hundreds of times in our own Town Court.  Prior to becoming a judge, I also served as an arbitrator in New York City Civil Court and White Plains City Court.

Over the past four years, the Administrative Judge for our District has asked me to assist other courts.  I have presided dozens of times as an acting judge in Westchester County’s busiest courts: Yonkers City Court, Mount Vernon City Court, White Plains City Court and Yorktown Town Court, where I served as the Acting Town Justice for five months.  In all, I have heard thousands of cases and have never been reversed by an appellate court.  I have been published in the New York Law Journal and the official reporter of decisions for New York State courts.

I have lived in the same house in our town with my wife, Melissa, for over 23 years.  My two children attended Chappaqua schools from kindergarten through graduation from Greeley.  I have been a soccer and baseball coach and have coached the Greeley High School Mock Trial team.

I am proud of my fifteen year membership on the New Castle Drug Abuse Prevention Council (two years as Chairman) and later membership on New Castle CARES.  These volunteer community organizations are focused on preventing substance abuse and fostering positive behavior in young people in town by educating students and parents.

I am a first responder in our town.  Since 2005, I have been a volunteer EMT for the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps, regularly rushing to medical emergencies and providing emergency medical care throughout New Castle and through mutual aid in other communities.

Since I began serving as your judge, I, along with Town Justice Douglas Kraus, have improved the workings of the court in many ways.  We have made our court more user friendly.  We streamlined the courtroom process to reduce your waiting time.  At no cost to the town, we obtained hardware to accept payment by credit card, without vendor’s fees charged to the town.  We obtained new technology equipment to expedite processing of our cases, which has resulted in much faster processing for those personally appearing at our clerks’ office.  The new equipment was likewise acquired at no cost to the town.  We made the court safer by acquiring a magnetometer which is used during regular court sessions - again, at no cost to the town.  We improved the Community Service program by arranging for those sentenced to Community Service to work at the Food Bank in Millwood.  Lastly, we started an internship program for local high school students interested in the law.

After about a quarter century of serving the public, I want to continue my commitment to New Castle.  I have the experience, expertise and commitment to continue the outstanding tradition of superior judges serving here in our town.  Of course, as a sitting judge, I cannot change your taxes.  I cannot have your street plowed before the snow becomes too deep or fix the potholes before you get a flat.  But, as your Town Justice, I can GUARANTEE that, as in the past, every case that comes before me will be decided fairly and that every person who appears before me will be treated with dignity and respect.

I look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve our town and preside over our court. 

Thank you.

David Zuckerman

Below, see the 18-minute video in which Moore, Kraus and Zuckerman—in that order—each had five minutes in which to speak about themselves.  See also:

Statement of Douglas Kraus

Statement of Kevin Moore

League of Women Voters of New Castle Forum: Three Candidates for two Town Justice seats:

[About 18 minutes in length]