Voters of Central New York will choose two State Supreme Court Justices on the ballot this November in the 5th Judicial District of New York.
Both incumbents, Republicans John Centra and Anthony Paris, are seeking re-election for a second term. As of April 5, no one had declared an intent to run for against them for a position yet.
The 5th Judicial District spans six counties: Onondaga, Oneida, Herkimer, Lewis, Jefferson and Oswego. Justices serve 14-year terms. Election Day is Nov. 5.
Justices are precluded from politics while they are in office. They cannot start campaigning until nine months before the judicial convention, where the political parties’ delegates elect candidates to run for election in each party, incumbent Justice Paris said. The judicial convention takes place in September and acts in place of a primary for the justice positions.
After they are elected, State Supreme Court Justices are appointed to different courts by the governor. For example, Centra sits in the Appellate Division in Rochester and Paris is a trial judge in Syracuse.
Here are sketches of the two incumbents seeking re-election:
John Centra (Republican)
On any given day, John Centra said, he will hear cases in the Appellate Division that include 20 different arguments and eight to 10 different types of law. That means he needs to have knowledge in family law, environmental law, criminal law and more. He loves the variety.
“It’s always changing,” he said. “It’s interesting. There’s nothing stagnant about what you do and it’s an interesting process.”
Centra was appointed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court system by Gov. George Pataki in 2006.
Centra has been a judge on some level for nearly 25 years. In 1984, he earned his law degree at Ohio Northern Law School and started as an assistant district attorney in Onondaga County, a position he held from 1984 to 1988. He was elected as a town justice in DeWitt at the age of 32 in 1988 and held the seat for 10 years.
As he seeks re-election, Centra said, he has been to a number of fundraisers and political meetings. He has had to reacquaint himself, he said, to some of the politicians he has not spoken to since his last election in 1999.
“It’s trying to reintroduce yourself to a number of people in the six different communities and that’s what makes it more difficult,” Centra said. “One of the questions they always ask is ‘Where have you been the last 14 years?’
Anthony Paris (Republican)
Anthony Paris is a Syracuse lifer.
Paris graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse. He attended Syracuse University for both his undergraduate degree and his law degree. Even in his professional career, where he has worked as an attorney and judge, Paris said, he never felt the urge to leave the area.
“I like the people,” Paris said. “And my winter sport is shoveling so I don’t mind that too.”
In the 5th Judicial District, Paris serves on a trial court, which handles civil matters, including things like medical malpractice, personal injury, election laws, construction accidents, real property and mental health cases. He wants to continue serving in the role, he said, because of the challenges the job brings.
Paris serves on the Board of Directors for the Ronald McDonald House of Central New York.
From 1977 to 1989, Paris was an assistant district attorney in Onondaga County. From 1974 to 1993, he also was in private practice. In 1993, he was elected as a judge in Onondaga County Family Court.
When he won his first election for State Supreme Court Justice in 1999, Paris helped create a separate court in the 5th Judicial District to hear divorce cases. He hopes, Paris said, he can use the run-up to the election to get to know the community and to help them get to know him.
Said Paris: “You run on your reputation, your experience.”
(Mark Cooper is a senior majoring in newspaper journalism.)
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