Two Dutchess County attorneys seeking seat in Ninth Judicial District
Two Dutchess County attorneys are facing off in next month’s election to replace retiring state Supreme Court Justice Christine Sproat in the Ninth Judicial District.
Christi J. Acker and Linda Michetti Murray will be on the Nov. 7 ballot. The Ninth Judicial District comprises Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties.
Acker, 50, is a principal court attorney for the state Office of Court Administration and the Pine Plains town justice. She received her juris doctor from Villanova University School of Law in 1992. Acker lives in Pine Plains with her husband.
“I have over 25 years of Supreme Court experience, and 10 years of judicial experience as I have the honor of serving as town justice in my hometown of Pine Plains,” Acker said in a statement. “I was also a practicing attorney and have trial experience in the Supreme Court. I am the most qualified and experienced Supreme Court candidate.”
Acker added that she is the only candidate with judicial experience and with 25 years of Supreme Court experience. She also said she is the only one to have been rated “highly qualified” by five different judicial ratings committees.
“In front of the bench, next to the bench, and behind the bench, I know ev-
ery aspect of the legal system,” Acker said. “With my experience as a lawyer, a court attorney, and a town justice, I understand that people need someone on the bench who will hear their voices.”
Acker is a Democrat who also has the nomination of the Working Families Party.
Murray, 47, is the principal court attorney in Poughkeepsie City Court, assigned to judges Frank Mora and Thomas O’Neil. She received her juris doctor from Albany Law School in 1997. Murray lives in
Rhinebeck with her husband and two children.
“I am the only candidate who has been a prosecutor, a trial attorney who has tried cases before jurors, authored 34 decisions published by the New York Law Reporting Bureau, and a mother,” Murray said in a statement. “Rated ‘highly qualified’ by the Dutchess County Bar Association, I prosecuted thousands of violent felony offenses for seven years as a Queens County prosecutor.”
“During my long legal career in Dutchess County I have served as a municipal attorney, attorney in private practice, and as the principal court attorney for two judges in one of the Hudson
Valley’s busiest courts, supervising a staff of 20 people,” Murray said.
In addition to her legal career, Murray said it has been her privilege “to serve the Dutchess community as a civic and community leader.”
Murray is a Republican who also has the nomination of the Independence and Conservative parties.
State Supreme Court justices are elected to 14-year terms and generally preside over civil matters; divorce, separation and annulment proceedings; and sometimes criminal prosecutions of felonies.
Currently, state Supreme Court justices are paid $193,000 annually.