BY ADAM ATKINSON
North Country This Week

Longtime Canton lawyer Andrew Moses calls himself a family man for family court in his bid for the county’s family court judgeship, and says he would bring a human element to decisions he would make in the position if elected.

Moses, running on the Republican and Conservative tickets, will face Alexander Lesyk in the November election.

Moses and his wife of 27 years, Renee, have two children Rachel, 23, and Sam, 17, and reside in Canton. He has served as an attorney focusing on children and children’s issues for the last 29 years.

Moses was a social services attorney from June 1992 to October 1995 and from May 2015 to August 2017.

“I was in court on an almost daily basis with case workers,” Moses said.

He was also a deputy county attorney from February 2002 to May 2015.

“Again I worked in family court multiple days a week to prosecute juvenile delinquency,” Moses said. “(And) my goal in prosecuting them was to try to get them the services they need.”

Moses’ court related work ran the gamut from hearings to depositions to other court proceedings.

“I think these experiences make me uniquely qualified for the position,” he said.

He also served as a children’s attorney form November 1995 to January 2002 after serving about 3 and half years at social services. The 59-year-old currently works in private practice.

Moses said he wants to be the county’s  family court judge to continue to serve the demographic he has worked with most of his life.

“What better way for me to help children and families?” he said.

Moses said he is inspired by the work of former Family Court Judges Nicandri and Silver, respecting the way they handled their court rooms. He said those judges tried to make the experience “uplifting.”

“And, I certainly don’t want to see children languish in foster care,” he said.

One of the main challenges facing family court are the issues and related controversy surrounding the county 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.

“The thing with DSS is that as a judge I can only follow the rules. I can’t legislate. All I can do is hold their feet to the fire as far as my orders will allow. I’m bound by law,” Moses said.

“I’ve worked at Social Services. I know what some of the problems are. And, the problems surfacing now were not there before,” he said.

St. Lawrence County’s opioid crisis is another major challenge which can affect the cases at the family court level both directly and indirectly, Moses said. “There is a huge drug problem. Parole does virtually nothing to help these guys. And, most of these guys have families,” Moses said.

Moses feels that if elected judge one of the procedural issues which will need to be addressed is the sheer number of cases on the docket currently in family court.

“The case load in family court is huge. I would like to slow the calendar down a little bit,” Moses said. “Give (cases) the attention they deserve. I don’t want to act like a triage.”

He feels that court time can be saved on each case by spending more time conferencing with attorneys and other players before going on the record in court. He feels this might also limit the wait room time for those due to appear in court. “One of the major complaints is that you sit and wait and wait and you wait and you wait,” he said.

When asked what separates him from his opponent, Moses pointed to his experience and his attitude.

“I do have over 29 years experience in family court,” Moses said. “I believe the way I have carried myself shows that I have the temperament to be a judge, I have the patience.”

Moses said he feels that it takes more than just following procedure to make a difference in the lives of children and parents as a family court judge.

“I believe I am that person both professionally and in the community,” Moses said.

“I’m not going to just be a robot who goes in to interpret the law and judge. There is a very large human element that I think I bring to the table,” he said.

Moses has been active in the community outside of his law career, having served as a school board member at Canton Central and, with his wife, as co-chair of the Canton Music Friends. He is also a member of the Canton Fire Department.

Learn more about the candidate at his webpage at https://www.andrewmosesforfamilycourtjudge.com/ and at his Facebook candidate’s page at https://www.facebook.com/andrewmosesforfamilycourtjudge/ .