Judicial candidates make their cases

Family Court candidate Nathan Van Loon, in the foreground, speaks as Family Court Judge Dandrea Ruhlmann, candidate Juan Nevarez and County Court candidates Paul Irving and Christopher Ciaccio look on. Mike Murphy

Candidates for elected judicial offices spoke on issues dealing with the importance of belonging to legal groups and how they would promote professionalism among attorneys and the bench.

The candidates who are seeking a judgeship for the first time also were asked how they would make the transition from practicing attorney to judge at the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorney’s annual candidate’s luncheon Thursday.

They also got some advice from Rochester City Court Judge Jack Elliott, who is running unopposed for re-election and for whom the transition was not as easy as he thought when he was first elected to the bench 10 years ago.

“Stay who you are,” Elliott said. “Remember the people in front of you.”

The Hon. Robert J. Lunn and the Hon. Patricia D. Marks served as moderators of the event in which candidates answered questioned posed by GRAWA members.

Voters are being asked to choose one of two candidates in the race for Monroe County Court judge. Both would be new to the bench.

Democratic candidate Christopher S. Ciaccio has been practicing law for 27 years, with experience in criminal and civil courts. He has been a sole practitioner for 23 years.

Experience as an attorney and advocate is important, but so is ensuring a sense of fairness and balance and having all who would appear before him leave with a sense that justice has been done, Ciaccio said.

“Style has a lot to do with it,” Ciaccio said.

Republican Paul D. Irving is a deputy county attorney. A former longtime assistant district attorney, he is a juvenile prosecutor and represents the Department of Health and Human Services in Family Court.

The job of prosecutor requires decision-making in every case, because while some deserve prison time, others who may be guilty do not, Irving said.

Monroe County Family Court Judge Dandrea Ruhlmann speaks on the importance of families in decision-making. Family Court candidates Nathan A. Van Loon, left, and Juan Nevarez look on. Mike Murphy

“I learned at a young age not to make snap judgments,” Irving said.

Voters will select two of four candidates in the race for Family Court judge.

Incumbent Judge Dandrea L. Ruhlmann, a Republican, was first elected in 2004. Judge Ruhlmann serves as lead judge of the Family Court’s Enhanced Court Practices Collaborative and the Georgetown University Public Policy Institute’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform Cross Over Youth Practice Model.

Judge Ruhlmann said she has learned and participated in ways to improve the lives of children and families who have appeared before her, and her passion for the job remains.

“We can’t always create a miracle, but we can have incremental successes,” Judge Ruhlmann said.

Pittsford attorney Jim Walsh, also a Republican, specializes in family and matrimonial law and represents children through the Law Guardians/Attorneys for the Children program. A former assistant district attorney, he has served as counsel to the county sheriff’s office.

In addition to his work as attorney, he also is a former hearing officer for the city of Rochester and labor department.

“I’ve been a decision-maker my entire career,” Walsh said.

Juan A. Nevarez, a Democrat, operates the Nevarez & Nevarez firm and is past president and vice president of the Ibero-American Action League. He is a member of the Monroe County Bar Association’s Family and Matrimonial Section.

Nevarez has written decisions in the past, and he said he has the professional experience to make them today. The difficult transition comes in saying goodbye to families and children he has represented.

“I have really enjoyed them,” Nevarez said.

Nathan A. Van Loon, also a Democrat, is a partner in the firm of Van Loon Menard. He is a former Michael F. Dillon Law Guardian Award winner and is former chairman of the Monroe County Bar Association’s Family Law Section.

The high case volume of a law guardian is preparation, but so is the need to diffuse anger and apply logic and reason to those cases, he said.

“You have to size people up all day long,” Van Loon said.