Editor,

After reading various testimonial letters and advertising on behalf of candidates for Chenango County Judge, I decided to investigate whether the information being told was factual.

To gather this information from the most credible source, I went directly to the New York State Unified Court System. Did you know that this area of government is very transparent and that the information is available to any citizen, not just members of the legal profession?

My findings showed that our County Judge presides the majority of his time in Family Court, a court that has an overwhelming caseload and at times requires additional judges for assistance. The Judge will spend a small amount of time in Surrogate Court and even less time on County Court matters.

The Court System has very good information about the qualities needed to be a judge. If a judge is to mainly be presiding in Family Court, they should have the most experience and background in Family Court.