Letter: Town Board Members Blast Team New Castle

(Below is a letter from New Castle Councilman Jason Chapin and Deputy Supervisor Elise Kessler Mottel regarding the Team New Castle ticket and Town Justice Noah Sorkin)

Letter to the Editor

The recent claim by the group calling itself "Team New Castle" that the appointment of Town Justice Noah Sorkin was the product of "politics as usual" is both false and does a serious injustice to Mr. Sorkin, who was and remains exceptionally well qualified for this position and has an admirable record of service to the Town over many years. As Town Board members, we were involved in the selection process. Here are the facts:

The vacancy in the Town Court was widely advertised last fall, numerous applications for the position were received by the Town Board. All were thoroughly reviewed by the Town Board, which then conducted in-depth interviews with the leading candidates. "Team New Castle's" Mr. Miller was, of course, free to participate in this process, had he wished to apply, but apparently chose not to do so.

Noah Sorkin was selected because he was judged to be the best-qualified of all the applicants. Though most residents only encounter the Town Court when they receive a traffic or parking ticket, in fact the Town Court is principally a misdemeanor criminal court (a misdemeanor being any crime punishable by up to one year in jail). The Town Court also has preliminary jurisdiction over felonies (the most serious crimes), up to the point when the accused is indicted by the grand jury. This means that our Town Justices are often called upon to determine whether probable cause exists to support a felony complaint, to decide motions to suppress evidence, and to rule upon the validity of searches by law enforcement authorities, among other issues.

Mr. Sorkin's extensive experience as a prosecutor made him exceptionally well-qualified for the position of Town Justice. He spent six years working as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn under then-District Attorney Elizabeth Holtzman, where as a member of the homicide division he gained exceptional trial experience handling the most serious crimes. He also served for five years as our Town Prosecutor, during which time he prosecuted numerous defendants for violations of state and local statutes and ordinances in the Town Court. No other applicant had Mr. Sorkin's combination of professional prosecutorial experience, familiarity with Town ordinances and enforcement procedures and experience trying cases in the Town Court as well as New York State's higher criminal courts.

The assertions by "Team New Castle" that Mr. Sorkin's recent appointment as Town Justice represents the "entirety" of his judicial experience is thus clearly belied by the facts, as is their claim that his selection was the result of "politics as usual." It is regrettable that they have resorted to such a scurrilous attack on Mr Sorkin, who has a long and distinguished record of public service to our State and Town.

We invite voters to compare the qualifications and experience of the candidates for Town Justice in this year's election. We are confident that those who do so will conclude, as we did, that Noah Sorkin is by far the best and most experienced candidate for the position of Town Justice.

Sincerely,

Jason Chapin & Elise Kessler Mottel

Town Board

October 17, 2013