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Opinion: St. Lawrence County Family Court Judge candidate responds to attorney's letter

Posted 10/26/21

To the Editor: Attorney Bob Ballan recently endorsed my opponent by claiming I make erroneous legal arguments and that he had never seen me in court. My record speaks for itself. When you have been a …

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Opinion: St. Lawrence County Family Court Judge candidate responds to attorney's letter

Posted

To the Editor:

Attorney Bob Ballan recently endorsed my opponent by claiming I make erroneous legal arguments and that he had never seen me in court. My record speaks for itself.

When you have been a prosecutor as I have, you learn quickly which attorneys can accept a loss and who cannot. You know which attorneys will represent clients to the best of their ability and which ones can’t or won’t.

Mr. Ballan has definitely seen me in court. As St. Lawrence County Chief Assistant District Attorney, I prosecuted a man who was abusive against his wife. They moved back together after they had reconciled. Unfortunately, the relationship deteriorated again and she asked him to leave.

Before leaving, he called Mr. Ballan for advice and recorded the conversation. Mr. Ballan advised him to empty out the house before he left – to literally take everything. His ex-wife returned to an empty home. All the furnishings were gone, and he even took her jewelry and clothing. Mr. Ballan’s client was arrested for grand larceny.

Because Mr. Ballan was a potential witness at trial, the defendant had to hire a different attorney to represent him. On the day of the Grand Jury presentation, Mr. Ballan showed up anyway and sat outside of the Grand Jury room. Asked why he was there, he said it was a public bench and he could sit there all day if he wanted to.

The judge and I thought that Mr. Ballan’s presence could intimidate the witnesses during this confidential proceeding, so we moved the Grand Jury to a location where the witnesses would not see Mr. Ballan. When the proceeding was concluded, Mr. Ballan left in a huff.

The defendant’s new attorney asked to dismiss the case because the defendant said he was just following Mr. Ballan’s legal advice. I argued that while Mr. Ballan’s advice was bad, the defendant chose to follow it and thereby commit a crime. Ultimately, the defendant was convicted of two counts of larceny.

Later, Mr. Ballan angrily challenged me for calling his legal advice “bad.” I told him that his advice had the potential of landing his client in prison. That, by definition, is bad legal advice.

I am proud to have stood up for a victim of domestic abuse, and for not tolerating Mr. Ballan’s behavior. As Family Court Judge, I will continue to work to achieve justice for victims of domestic violence.

Alexander Lesyk
St. Lawrence County Family Court Judge Candidate
Norwood