Ulster County Court Judge Democratic Nominees

State Supreme Court, 3rd Judicial District Democratic Nominees

NOTE: There are 6 nominees for State Supreme Court, 3rd Judicial District -- Democratic nominees are welcome to submit their bio/resume to UCDW for posting.

JUDGE WILLIAM A. CARTER | JUDGE JIM GILPATRIC | PETER A. LYNCH, ESQ

JUDGE RACHEL KRETSER | JUDGE JOHN STEGMAYER

JUDGE WILLIAM A. CARTER

Judge William A. Carter was appointed Albany City Court Judge in 2001 and was elected to that position in 2002.

Judge Carter began his legal career in law enforcement as a New York State Trooper. He was stationed in Troop F, which includes Greene and Ulster Counties. During his career, he received several Troop Commanders commendations and a Superintendent’s Commendation. Judge Carter then left the New York State Police to attend law school. Upon graduation from Albany Law School, he became an Assistant District Attorney for the County of Albany. He was a felony trial assistant in the Narcotics Unit and prosecuted both felony and misdemeanor level offenses. He eventually became the Chief Assistant District Attorney of Albany County in 2001.

Judge Carter also served as a New York State Assistant Attorney General, in the Criminal Prosecutions Bureau. He was the lead trial attorney for the Capital District Illegal Guns Compact. This early attempt by the Attorney General’s Office to create a joint agency task force to combat the illegal use of firearms required Judge Carter to be cross-designated as an Assistant United States Attorney, as well as an Assistant District Attorney for Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Saratoga Counties.

Judge Carter then left the Office of the Attorney General to enter into private practice with the Law Office of Castillo and Associates as a trial attorney. During this time, he was also appointed an Associate Capital Defender to represent indigent defendants in death penalty cases. Judge Carter then returned to the Office of the Albany County District Attorney as the Chief Assistant District Attorney.

Upon his appointment to the bench in 2001, Judge Carter, who is of African American and Japanese descent, became the first judge of color in the Third Judicial District. In 2005, the Legal Project of the Capital District Women’s Bar Association and the Albany Law School Domestic Violence Clinic recommended that Judge Carter preside over the newly created Albany City Domestic Violence Court. This specialty court is the only full-time, dedicated domestic violence court in the capital district. Judge Carter has since been designated as an Acting County Court Judge to supervise domestic violence cases.

Judge Carter has been an Adjunct Law Professor at Albany Law School since 2005, a volunteer judge for the Albany Law School Senior Trials Competition and has served as a mentor for the Albany Law School Black Law Students Association. He has also served as a mentor for the New York Legal Education Opportunity Program under the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission on Minorities.

Judge Carter has received The Frederick Douglass Struggle for Justice Award from The Center for Law and Justice, and was recognized by the City of Albany Common Council during Black History Month for service to the community. This year, he received the Israel A.M.E. Church 2009 Next Generation Leadership Award. Judge Carter was also presented with a certificate of appreciation as a Next Generation Community Leader from Governor David A. Patterson this year.

Judge Carter is member of the New York State Bar Association, the Albany County Bar Association, the Capital District Women’s Bar Association, the Capital District Black and Hispanic Bar Association, the New York State Association of City Court Judges, the Albany Chapter of the NAACP, and the Sons of the American Legion. He is also a former Vice President of the Board of Directors for Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime.

Contact Judge Carter - judgewcarter@yahoo.com

PETER A. LYNCH, ESQ.

EDUCATION
Albany Law School, Albany, New York, Juris Doctor, May 1979

Union College, Schenectady, New York, B.A. History, June 1976, Cum Laude

Vincentian Institute, Albany, New York, June 1972

LEGAL LICENSING/EXPERIENCE
Admitted to New York State Bar, January, 1980
Admitted to United States District Court, Northern District of New York, January, 1980
Admitted to US Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
Admitted to Florida Bar, May, 1983

General Practice of Law: January 1980 to date
Lynch & Hetman, PLLC, Partner, June 2008 to date
Lynch, Farrell & Hetman, PLLC, Partner, January 1, 2006 to June 2008
Lynch & Lynch, Esq., Partner, May, 1988 to December, 2005
Rutnik & Rutnik, Esqs., Associate Attorney, January 1980 to April, 1988

Twenty Nine years in general practice encompassing areas of land use and environmental compliance, real estate and business transactions, commercial and personal injury litigation, article 78 proceedings, matrimonial, estate work, appellate proceedings, and criminal defense work (in 1996 I was certified as Lead Capital Trial Counsel in Death Penalty Litigation).

Albany County Public Defender’s Office, with current position as Deputy Public Defender: January 1980 to date

Twenty-Nine Years of criminal defense work for indigent clientele. Since 1986, I have been in charge of the major felony trial unit and have personally been the lead trial attorney in over 200 major felony cases, including over 40 murder trials to verdict.

PERSONAL
Married to Blaine M. Ryan-Lynch in 1982. We have one son, Casey Ryan Lynch, and reside in Loudonville, New York. I served as Chairman of the Law Committee of the Albany County Democratic Party from the mid-1990’s through 2008. I also served for several years as a member of the St. Pius X School Board, as well as a soccer coach for the St. Pius X soccer program, and as a baseball Coach for the North Colonie Little League.

Contact Peter Lynch:
LYNCH & HETMAN, PLLC
111 State Street
Albany, New York 12207
Tel. No. (518) 463-1252 | Fax No. (518) 463-1255
E-Mail: plynch@lynchesq.com

JUDGE RACHEL KRETSER

Judge Rachel Kretser was appointed to the Albany City Criminal Court in December 2005, and was elected to that position in November, 2006, becoming the first woman ever to serve full time on a criminal court bench in the Third Judicial District.

Before her ascension to the bench, Judge Kretser was an Assistant Attorney General for more than 25 years, serving in the Litigation Bureau, as Deputy Bureau Chief of the Legislative Bureau, and Bureau Chief of both the Albany Consumer Frauds Bureau and the Legal Education and Staff Development Bureau. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, Judge Kretser was associated with the Manhattan law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

Judge Kretser is active in numerous professional and community organizations.

She is Vice President of the National Association of Women Judges, N.Y. Chapter, and Vice President of the N.Y.S. Association of City Court Judges.

In 2003, she was elected Vice President of the NYS Bar Association, representing the Third Judicial District, and has been reelected to that position each year through the 2009 term.

She is Past President of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (1995–1996) and Past President of the Capital District Women’s Bar Association (1991–1992).

Judge Kretser is a founding member of the CDWBA Legal Project and the Women’s Bar Foundation, and is a Fellow of the NYS Bar Foundation.

A former Director of The Fund for Modern Courts, she also serves on the Board of the Center for Women in Government and the Honorary Board of the Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Association.

Judge Kretser is a member of the Albany County Bar Association, the Lawyer–Pilots Bar Association and the Women Pilots Association. She serves on the steering committee of the Brandeis Baruch Society and is a member of the United Jewish Federation of NENY.

Judge Kretser was appointed to a number of state and federal judicial screening panels and Office of Court Administration committees. In 1993, she was appointed by then Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Joseph J. Traficanti, Jr. to the OCA Committee on City Courts, and was reappointed to that Committee by Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Jan Plumadore in 2008.

In 1994, she was appointed to the Federal Bankruptcy Judge Merit Selection Panel by Jon O. Newman, Chief Judge of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Kretser was appointed by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye to the Third Department Judicial Screening Panel in 1996, and served on that committee for ten years. In 1997, she was appointed to the Third Judicial District Litigation Task Force by Justice Joseph Teresi; and was appointed to the Northern District Magistrate Selection Committee in 2001 by Hon. Frederick Scullin, Jr., Chief U.S. District Judge for the Northern District. Judge Kretser was appointed to the Third Judicial District Gender Fairness Committee in 1988 by Justice Karen Peters and reappointed by Justices George Ceresia and Leslie Stein.

Through her public service and volunteer activities, Judge Kretser has worked to provide increased access to legal services for victims of abuse and to expand education and services for breast cancer victims. In recognition of her dedication to the profession and to the community, she has received a number of prestigious awards including the Ruth Shapiro Memorial Award from the NYS Bar Association, the Marilyn Menge Award from the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, the Woman of Excellence Award from the Albany–Colonie Chamber of Commerce, the Kate Stoneman Award from Albany Law School, the Distinguished Member Award from the Capital District Women’s Bar Association, and the Distinguished Service Award from the NYS Attorney General.
Judge Kretser is a licensed private pilot.

Contact Judge Rachel Kretser:

rlk1att@yahoo.com

JUDGE JOHN STEGMAYER

John Stegmayer was born and raised in Ulster County.

After completing his undergraduate education at New Paltz and law school in Buffalo, he returned in 1983 to take a position with the Kingston law firm of Wapner, Koplovitz & Futerfas where he eventually became a partner.

He also became an Assistant Public Defender assigned to handle the toughest Family Court cases of abuse, neglect, family offenses, custody and visitation.

He is a member and former President of the Ulster County Bar Association and was awarded its Pro Bono Award for his provision of free legal services to the indigent.

In 1994, as a result of his experience and reputation, he was judicially appointed to the position of Family Court Hearing Examiner. In 14 years as a Hearing Examiner and Support Magisrtrate, John Stegmayer has presided over more than 40,000 Family Court cases throughout the Third Judicial District.

His election will help restore some geographic balance to the district where there are presently just 7 trial level Supreme Court judges, 6 of whom are from Albany or Rensselaer County, with just 1 judge from the other 5 counties.

He will also be one of the only trial level judges with substantial Family Court experience, which is a valuable asset for handling the matrimonial caseload. John Stegmayer previously served on the boards of the College at New Paltz Alumni Association and Saugerties Public Library.

He is presently on the boards of the Saugerties Lighthouse Conservancy, Saugerties Kiwanis, and the Saugerties youth soccer association. He resides with his wife Elizabeth, a school librarian, and three children in the town of Saugerties.