Feeney, former City Court judge, dies at 80

KINGSTON, N.Y. >> Edward T. Feeney, who served as a Kingston City Court judge for 25 years, died Friday. He was 80.

A lifelong Kingston resident, Feeney received his doctorate of law from Albany Law School. He started his legal career at Rusk, Rusk, and Feeney in 1963. He formed a partnership with J. Michael Bruhn in 1972.

Feeney served for six years as counsel to former state Assemblyman H. Clark Bell and for three years as law clerk to former Ulster County Judge Francis J. Vogt.

In 1982, he was appointed special City Court judge by Mayor Donald Quick. He became a fulltime City Court judge with his election in 1994. He was re-elected to the post in 2000 and served until his retirement in 2007.

“I will go and look at the sunset, the clouds, the change of seasons,” Feeney told the Freeman in an interview for a story about his retirement. “The crashing of waves, the sounds of gulls. Sometimes I will look at the stars and moon. It is peaceful.”

Feeney’s roles included overseeing the Ulster County Regional Drug Treatment Court. It was a program of which he was most proud.

“The court has given people the opportunity to pull themselves up,” Feeney, who was familiar with the pitfalls of substance abuse, said during the same interview.

At the time of Feeney’s retirement, then-Kingston Mayor James Sottile said he thought the judge brought a humanitarian approach to the bench.

“He has learned lessons in life and has brought that to decisions he has made,” Sottile said. “I see Judge Feeney as an everyday citizen, a compassionate guy who has served this community and its justice system with a common-sense approach.”

Feeney’s funeral is scheduled for Wednesday.