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There are substantial differences in how the candidates view the position of county court judge. In fact, the only thing Ms. Joern and Judge Czajka seem to have in common is their passion for the work they do and the belief of each that he or she is doing what is best to protect vulnerable, at-risk children.
Ms. Joern, 54, of East Chatham, questions the high numbers of children in out-of-home placements made in Columbia County during her opponent's tenure. Mr. Czajka, 50, of Chatham, says the focus of his interest in family court is the safety of the child, not statistics.
He cites his 10 years of experience as a judge in criminal and surrogates court, as well as in family court, saying the judge's duties in criminal and family court are nearly equal at 45% each, with surrogates court making up nearly 10% of the work, numbers confirmed by the state Office of Court Administration.
He counts his work experience as a public defender and as district attorney as extremely useful, hastening to add that his work as D.A. did not prejudice his thinking in favor of the prosecution, nor did his time as a public defender make him inclined to favor defendants.
Ms. Joern extolls her good fortune in studying with, and being supervised by, outstanding lawyers like the late Paul Dwyer. She worked as an attorney for Albany, Ulster, and Columbia counties, specializing in child abuse and neglect cases and also spent time litigating cases in Albany. Most recently, she was an administrative law judge with the state Office of Children and Family Services for three years, before leaving the agency to campaign for the judgeship.
Paul Czajka
Paul Czajka is Columbia County born and raised. He grew on the family dairy farm in Livingston and later ran the farm. He and his wife, Dr. Ellen Czajka, a radiologist, and their three sons Chris, Nick and Tim, live in Chatham.
Mr. Czajka graduated from Germantown Central School, received his undergraduate degree from SUNY-Albany and his law degree from Western New England College School of Law.
He served with the Peace Corps in the Philippines, supervising agricultural loans for small farms.
He began his career as a Columbia County assistant district attorney from 1981-1985, and then as the county's public defender in 1986 and 1987, providing legal services for those otherwise unable to afford legal assistance.
From 1988 to 1994, he was the county's first full-time district attorney. He was two-term D.A. who is proud of his success in prosecuting corrupt local law enforcement, most visibly, the Hudson Police Department, and white collar criminals, no matter what their political affiliation. He helped create the Columbia County Drug Task Force in 1988.
When he was elected county judge in 1994, Mr. Czajka says decided the criminal justice system needed some radical changes. He refused to accept plea bargains, not because they were illegal or unethical, but because he felt great effort had been expended on creating a body of law and that defendants should receive the full benefits of those laws.
"Nobody thought it would work," he says, "and I admit, we took a whole lot of cases to trial-it was almost overwhelming. But we got through it and the system is still working today. It also meant I spent a lot more time as part of the investigation, which, until then, had been the providence of local law enforcement."
The newly elected judge also made changes in how the court calendars worked, streamlining the selection of juries and giving each case a specific time for presentation. Traditionally, cases were called for two times-9:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. Lawyers, defendants, witnesses and law enforcement officials often waited all morning or all afternoon until their cases were called. Mr. Czajka says the old system wasted of the client's money and everyone's time.
In his court, each case is given a date and time at the first appearance, and each is within four months of the hearing. Wills are routinely probated within 10 days, as opposed to the year or year-and-a-half in other counties.
"I am disheartened to hear people suggest that I am so cold-hearted in regard to what I do to protect children," says the judge. "If I have done anything over the last 40 years, it's been to protect victims who are unable to protest themselves and in particular, children.
"Unfortunately, children are abused and neglected before I am involved. That is why the Columbia County agencies-the Department of Social Services, the Probation Department, the Department of Human Services, the Hudson City School District and the County Board of Supervisors and the Family Court judges-have joined together to establish better communication and establish early intervention for at-risk children. By the time kids get to court, it's too late."
He believes incumbency, usually an advantage to a candidate, may not help him in his bid for re-election: "I have to put the safety of the child first. The only thing more humiliating and infuriating than being told you require help to raise your own child, would be having that child taken away. I can understand why there are people who hate me, but the children have to come first."
Pamela Joern
During the campaign, Ms. Joern has emphasized the issue of the county's high rate of children in foster care, saying the rate reflects a failing by the court to embrace alternative approaches to families in crisis.
It was anecdotal evidence of out-of-home placements that led Ms. Joern to seek records from Columbia County and compile data on the family court. Based on what she learned, she says she decided to challenge Judge Czajka in this year's election. "I favor the establishment of a preventive, community-based initiative to help better serve vulnerable children with multiple needs and reduce the number of children placed in out-of-home residential care," says Ms. Joern.
Pamela Joern was born in Pennsylvania. She received a bachelor's degree in fine arts in graphic arts from the Philadelphia College of Art in 1972 and, after 13 years in that field, decided she wanted a career that would stretch her intellect and fulfill her desire to "give back" in a socially conscientious way.
When she was a freshman in high school a social studies teacher told her and her family that she was not intelligent enough to pursue her chosen field of social work. Now, she says, "I tell all of my children's teachers that if I ever hear they have told my kids there is anything they cannot accomplish, they will have to deal with me. And it won't be pretty."
As an adult, she volunteered as an advocate for abused and neglected children in the New York City courts, and she says she realized she had found her vocation.
In the late 1980s, Ms. Joern, a single parent, decided she wanted her young son to grow up in the same sort of place as she had-a beautiful rural area with interesting cities close by. She chose Columbia County, registered her son at the Hawthorne Valley School and attended law school at Albany School of Law.
"I was determined to be a student, a good mom and make us a living in the not very lucrative area of the law I had chosen, all at the same time," she says. "It was really tough for a while. You probably heard that I had difficulty paying my taxes and student loans for a while, but we managed it."
As life became easier, Ms Joern and her then-12-year-old son, Reese, decided they needed another family member, and they became foster family and then adoptive family to Katie, who was two at the time of her adoption.
"The campaign has been tough, but exhilarating," she says. "I wouldn't have missed this for the world. I am amazed by the response I get from strangers who thank me for running, wish me luck, and share their stories. I really feel like part of the community. Columbia County is my home now."
