I have patiently followed the scandal (one of many) in Delaware County, New York concerning a fight between the County Commissioner of Social Services and the County attorney who represented the Commissioner in court, as a petitioner in a juvenile delinquency (criminal proceedings for teens in Family Court) case.
As always, the bold and courageous local press, thumping on Trump lately all the time as allegedly acting against the U.S. Constitution (while regularly turning a blind eye to corruption in the local government, and especially the judiciary), have missed the main point in the squabble.
The incompetence of Judge Gary Rosa who could have ended the conflict in one decision - saving
- much heartache and physical injury for the teen,
- the position for Commissioner Dana Scudderi-Hunter and
- tens of thousands of dollars for Delaware County taxpayers, including my husband and myself.
But - no.
Being a coward that he is, he did not do what he was supposed to, as a judge.
The point is that BOTH the Commissioner of Social Services (Dana Scudderi-Hunter) and the County Attorney (Amy Merklen) had IRRECONCILABLE conflicts of interest in that juvenile case and could not possibly be part of that (sealed, by the way) proceeding.
Why?
Well, that much was out in the open.
So, the Commissioner could not possibly - as a person in the position of a parent of the teen, his legal guardian - PROSECUTE that same teen in a juvenile quasi-criminal proceeding.
It was, of course, County Attorney Amy Merklen's job to so advise the Commissioner - but she did not. Which is malpractice and incompetence in itself, and it is Merklen who should have been booted along with Dana Scuderi-Hunter.
Instead, Merklen came into conflict with her own client, took in litigation the position of the County Supervisors who pays her salary but had no right to know anything that is going on in a juvenile proceeding.
The position of the County was to save money - which may not be an issue in litigation at all, and, which resulted in the opposite, in grossly wasting tens of thousands of our hard-earned dollars.
Merklen also took the position the County's probation office against the position of her own client.
When the client, the Commissioner, did not cave in, Merklen complained about the position of her own client in litigation (in a SEALED juvenile case) to the County Board, which is a violation of the teen's privacy, and made sure that her own client has lost a job.
Mind that Amy Merklen MUST be disbarred for what she did - but she never will be.
Why?
Because remember Porter Kirkwood, Merklen's predecessor as County Attorney?
The crook who constantly engaged in ex parte communications with his predecessor as Deputy County Attorney - Judge Carl Becker?
Porter Kirkwood is now a law clerk for a judge in the attorney licensing court, the 3rd Department (unless "his" judge Molly Fitzgerald has left him behind - his registration still shows that he is in Binghamton, in the court assigning judges to cases across the judicial district -
while she has been transferred to the 3rd Department long time ago),
and he will never allow disbarment of "his own", of another local loyal crook.
But, my question remains - WHY didn't Judge Rosa end this whole thing with one decision, a SUA SPONTE (on the court's own motion) decision, seeing very plainly in front of him a legal guardian of a child prosecuting, in a quasi-criminal proceeding, her own ward?
Why didn't he disqualify the Delaware County Commissioner Dana Scudderi-Hunter because of her irreconcilable conflict of interest?
Why didn't he dismiss the proceeding as being void since it has been filed by a person with an irreconcilable conflict of interest, and thus, disqualified from filing such petitions?
And, why NOBODY, not one of the multiple attorneys handling this case from all sides - has pointed that out, in any of the multiple court and administrative hearings relevant to the case?
And why NO JOURNALIST covering this whole story raised this issue?
So, why did Judge Rosa continue to adjudicate a void proceeding?
Costing the actual physical and mental harm to the teenager in question, a job to the Commissioner and tens of thousands of dollars WASTED of taxpayers' (including my husband's and my own) money?
Will you re-elect this incompetent twit to the bench again?
Will you keep him rule over your lives for the remainder of his term?
Or will you do something to get him off the bench?
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