The Scarsdale Inquirer

2014 S.I. Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Founded in 1901
VOLUME 92, NUMBER 22 FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION
By LINDA LEAVITT
The Westchester Democratic County
Committee met at the Crowne Plaza Hotel
last Wednesday, May 21, and chose can-
didates for Westchester County Family
Court judge and Westchester County Court
judge. Both candidates will be on the bal-
lot in November.
Scarsdale Acting Village Justice Arlene
Katz, 54, was nominated for Westchester
Family Court. Katz has been a practitioner
in the family court for over 20 years, han-
dling cases of child abuse and neglect, de-
linquency, persons in need of supervision
and custody.
She has been the part-time village jus-
tice for 19 years. When appointed by for-
mer Mayor Anne Janiak, she was only 36,
the youngest ever to serve, but no strang-
er to the ways of the bench. Her father,
Ascher Katz, was a longtime town justice
in Greenburgh. In a 1996 article in the In-
quirer, Katz told reporter Louise Wollman
her deep convictions about children and
family life led her to envision seeking a
family court judgeship in the future. That
time has come.
She understands the needs of children
and families and does her best to ensure that
they get the best representation possible,
said Mark Lewis, former chairman of the
Scarsdale Democratic Town Committee.
This is the type of person we want sitting
on the family court bench. Judge Katz has
complete control of her court and makes
sure defendants understand their rights. If
they do not, she takes the time to explain
before proceeding on. She cares about the
people who come before her and tries to
make them feel that they will be heard and
get a fair trial.
Before coming to Scarsdale, Katz was an
arbitrator in White Plains Civil Court, a staff
attorney for the juvenile rights division of
the Legal Aid Society in the Bronx and an
associate at various law frms in Manhattan.
She earned her J.D. at Emory Law
School and her B.A. in psychology at the
State University of New York at Albany.
She has held several positions on the West-
chester Magistrates Association, including
president in 2007, and belongs to fve bar
associations.
Observing Katz at work in Scarsdale Vil-
lage Court 18 years ago, Wollman noted
that she directs 100 percent of her atten-
tion to the speaker Her quiet unharried
style says theres plenty of time to do the
judging part. Asked what she considered
to be her particular qualifcations for family
court, Katz said, I have a gift for relating to
families in need and the ability to listen with
patience and compassion. She said that the
keys to being a fair and effective judge are
experience, knowledge and preparation.
In many cases, a more satisfactory solution
is reached when the parties settle, Katz said.
If both sides are reasonably satisfed, they
can move on with their lives.
In Scarsdale Katz has been an active
volunteer, serving currently on the board
of directors of the Center @ 862 and on
the board of Scarsdale Edgemont Family
Counseling Service (she is now a director
at large); as a Girl Scout leader, on the ad
hoc committee to study the feasibility of
Scarsdale Youth Court, on various commit-
tees of the Quaker Ridge PTA and on the
Caring Community Committee at West-
chester Reform Temple. Shes also been a
sustaining member of the Junior League of
Central Westchester and a judge at the trial
advocacy and mediations competitions at
Pace University School of Law.
Katz is married to Jeffrey Spitzer and has
a son, Jacob, entering his sophomore year
at Emory and a daughter, Hannah, soon to
be a ninth-grader at Scarsdale High School.
If elected I will do my best to see the
children and families receive the services,
guidance and protection they badly need
and so much deserve, Katz said.
Current Family Court Judge David
Klein, also a Democrat, has reached the
mandatory retirement age of 70.
Croton-on-Hudson Acting Village Court
Judge Anne Minihan was nominated for
Westchester County Court judge. She is
also the principal law clerk to J. Emmett
Murphy, Supreme Court.
Minihan has worked as an assistant dis-
trict attorney in Westchester County where
she prosecuted criminals to the fullest ex-
tent of the law. She has presided over thou-
sands of criminal, vehicular, civil and land-
lord/tenant matters. She is married and has
two children.
Katz to run for Family Court judge
Arlene Katz