BY ADAM ATKINSON
North Country This Week

Alexander Lesyk, principal court attorney for the Franklin County family court judge, hopes to draw upon that experience, and his 33-year legal career, in his own run for St. Lawrence County Family Court Judge.

“The vast majority of my career as been in public service,” the Democratic candidate said. “I think I can hit the ground running with family court.”

Lesyk will face Republican Andrew Moses in the November election.

Lesyk and his wife Christina of 38 years have an adult son Ian and live in Norwood.

Lesyk began his practice 33 years ago providing legal services to children with disabilities in Plattsburgh. From there he worked for 15 years in Franklin County as head of the public defender’s office where he handled all kinds of cases.

He was then asked to serve as chief assistant district attorney in St. Lawrence County where he served for four years. He was an associate professor at SUNY Canton teaching law, and was appointed as a special prosecutor to handle certain cases where then District Attorney Mary Rain had conflicts of interest carrying over from her private practice.

He also works in St. Lawrence County covering criminal drug court cases, and has been appointed by the state Court of Appeals to serve as tribal legal council to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe.

However, he feels like his current position as principal court attorney for the Honorable Robert G. Main, Jr., the Acting Family  Court Judge in Franklin County, is providing him with some special insights into the workings of family court which he will be able to bring to the table if elected to the St. Lawrence County bench. In Franklin County, Lesyk assists in all aspects of family law, including conferencing with attorneys and drafting judicial decisions.

He believes being elected to the position would be a natural progression have started his career as an attorney for the defense, then moving into prosecution and now working on the judicial end of things.

“(Family Court Judge) is not a cushy job,” Lesyk said of the work, and he expects the coming years to be more busy than normal.

Of the challenges facing the next family court judge, the sheer number of cases to be handled could lead the list.

“The problem begins in St. Lawrence County just with the case load,” Lesyk said. He said a huge backlog of cases has built up during the pandemic. He said many child abuse and neglect cases and domestic violence incidents that might normally come under scrutiny in normal circumstances may have slipped notice during the pandemic and shutdowns.

“I’m expecting the case load to even go up,” Lesyk said.

As an example, Lesyk said Schenectady County which has a similar case load of around 3,000 cases a year has three judges to handle the load.

“But, I’m prepared to do this job. I’m coming into this with eyes open,” Lesyk said.

The candidate said the huge workload ties in somewhat, although perhaps indirectly, to controversy surrounding the county’s Department of Social Services. Numerous parental complaints have been leveled at the department for their handling of foster care cases, with many claims of intimidation of parents and other unethical practices. Two recent child deaths, both ruled homicides by the district attorney, and both happening under the watch of DSS, are also under investigation.

Lesyk said many of the issues uncovered at DSS are more internal problems and not judicial ones. Lesyk said however, one main issue which leads to DSS case workers serving as foster parents (one of the central criticisms under scrutiny at the department) is a shortage of available parents to serve in that capacity. “There is not a line of foster parents waiting for that child,” Lesyk said. And, he added, case worker families like many families are not perfect.  

Lesyk pointed out that there are three times as many children in foster care in St. Lawrence County as in counties of a similar population.

When asked what changes he could implement to help out with the overall Family Court work load, Lesyk said that if elected, he would appoint an office of court administration to serve as a court attorney helping handle custody and visitation.

He would also reinstitute the county’s family drug court which has been abandoned in recent years. That court gives adults with drug issues incentive to reunite with their children if they seek treatment of their substance abuse issues. “It might be more work up front, but it’s less work down the road,” Lesyk said.

Another change he would like to see is to rebuild the county’s law guardian program, a pool of attorneys assigned to represent children which currently only has a roster of around 5 or 6 attorneys serving. Lesyk said he would also take advantage of state-funded program which provides a dedicated office of 2 to 3 attorneys to represent children to help with the case surplus.

Lesyk says his leadership experience at the positions he has held for the majority of his career separates him from his opponent.

“I think that type of leadership experience is especially important for being a family court judge, especially in a court as busy as this,” he said.

Another difference he says is his career path compared to his opponent.

“I’ve moved towards becoming a family court judge,” he said, adding that he feels his opponent has not, choosing instead to work in different areas of the law.

“I just want people to objectively understand that family court judge is not a political position,” Lesyk said. “People should vote for the person they feel is the most qualified and turn blinders to political party.”

Lesyk is an active community member serving as a member of the board of directors fro the Massena Independent Living Center and working with the St. Lawrence County Youth Council.

To learn more Lesyk and his candidacy visit his webpage at www.alexanderlesykforfamilycourtjudge.com or his Facebook candidate profile at https://www.facebook.com/people/Alexander-Lesyk-for-SLC-Family-Court-Judge/100065284668946/ .