by David Flint
Nineteen sixty-four was the year the Beatles invaded America, the New York World’s Fair opened, the Ford Mustang made its debut, Nikita Khrushchev was deposed and Barry Goldwater was nominated. “Mary Poppins,” “Dr. Strangelove” and “Goldfinger” were the must-see movies. The Warren Report was issued, and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution brought Vietnam front and center. John Garvin was Town Supervisor in Stephentown and Wes Edwards took office as Town Justice. It’s been a long time, with a lot of water over the dam, and Wes is still presiding at Town Court, this month completing his 50th year.
[private]Edwards may not be the longest serving judge ever in New York State. Reportedly one town judge served for 52 years. But according to Tanja Sirago, Executive Director of the NYS Magistrates Association, Edwards is currently the longest serving judge in that organization of which 90% of town judges are members.
When Edwards took office in 1964 as “Justice of the Peace” he was also automatically a member of the Town Board. That lasted until 1977 when the State decided that it was a conflict of interest for a local judge to sit on the Town Board. Edwards agrees. “You can’t legislate and adjudicate at the same time,” he said.
Edwards was born and raised in Berlin, NY, and graduated from Berlin High School in 1947. He served six years in the Army, about half of that time in Heidelberg, Germany. He now serves as Secretary of the Veterans of Stephentown organization. He is also a long time member of the Empire State Masonic Order at the Unity Lodge #9 in New Lebanon. Following his military service he was employed with General Electric in Pittsfield, MA, retiring in 1992.
Wes met Janet McClintock at the Bridgeway in Cherry Plain and they were married in 1955 by the Rev. Homer B. Silvernail. Janet is a member of the Heavenly Quilters, the Stephentown Seniors and is on the Board of the Stephentown Historical Society. She and Wes are both active in the Stephentown Federated Church. They have two sons and a daughter, Greg and his wife Doreen in Virginia, Dwight and his wife Anne in North Carolina and Carolyn and Patrick Hourihan living nearby in Guilderland. The Edwards are proud, too, of their seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
After besting Leland Snow in the 1963 election for Justice of the Peace, Edwards has been challenged in elections only three times, in 1963, 1967 and 1971. It was in 1971 that he beat John Esposito. Esposito, however, ran again in 1973, secured the other Justice post and served alongside Edwards for many years. Edwards served with Bill Bishop and Jack Haley before Esposito, and alongside Laura Schindler after Esposito died and currently, since 1999, with Cyril Grant.
Edwards said it was Al Silvernail who urged him to run for the Town Court back in 1963. His father-in-law was not too enthusiastic about it, but Edwards ran and won, and it has been a major part of his life ever since. “I’ve enjoyed it. It has been a challenge, and every case is different,” he said. The toughest part, he said, is having to decide cases involving hometown people that may not always have a pleasant outcome for them. “But as long as you are fair, they don’t complain too much,” Edwards said.
According to the NYS Office of Court Administration the town and village courts in the State handle close to two million cases a year. They hear both civil matters – up to $3,000 – and criminal matters involving the prosecution of violations and misdemeanors. They also conduct arraignments and preliminary hearings in felony matters. The local judges are on-call 24 hours a day. They often have to hold arraignments for felony as well as misdemeanor charges and at times they may have to act as Family Court judges when Family Court is not in session. In cases of domestic violence they are authorized to issue orders of protection
When he started out as Justice of the Peace, Edwards held court at his home, which was then on Route 43 across from the Stephentown School. Later Court proceedings were moved to the Town Hall. A big and stressful part of the job was the paperwork which the judges had to take care of on their own. And the paperwork has steadily increased up to the present day. Finally, about 23 years ago, Deborah Coppola was appointed the first Court Clerk, taking some of that stress off of the judges. A lot has changed over the years. Everything is on computers now. One of the changes that Edwards thoroughly agrees with is the increase in training requirements for local judges. New town judges who are not attorneys must complete a 5 week course called “Taking the Bench.” After that they are required to complete 12 credits of training each year, six of them elective and six in the core program and requiring an examination.
Edwards said there are a lot more cases to hear than there used to be years ago. A good share of these is traffic violations, but there have also been increases in civil and criminal cases. The fines and surcharges are also a lot stiffer. Jury trials at the local level are rare. Edwards has presided over only three in his 50 years.
Retiring
Following completion of his 50th year Edwards will still have one more year to serve to complete his current term. At the end of next year, that will be it. He will not run for another term. “It will be a relief,” he said, “but I will miss it.”
Ed Schindler knows the job, having served 23 years as Justice in the neighboring Town of Berlin. “This is certainly a time to celebrate,” he said. “I feel proud to have served alongside Edwards with all he has done over the past 50 years. He has touched the lives of many people over these years and has made many hard decisions as well. Congratulations to Wes on completing his 50th year on the bench!”
Paul Toomey, Sand Lake Town Justice and Past President of the Rensselaer County Magistrates Association, said it was “an amazing accomplishment” to have served the Town of Stephentown for 50 years, but above all he credited Edwards as always being “a gentleman’s gentleman.”
Edwards’ colleague, Stephentown Justice Cyril Grant, had this to say, “Wes is a wonderful colleague, mentor and friend. Since assuming the responsibilities of Town Justice in January 1999, I have grown so much as a result of his guidance and support. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Wes on his milestone achievement of 50 years serving as Town Justice, and I know that I am not alone in wishing him well long into the future.” [/private]