By:Nicole Falco
The top three vote-getters in this six-way race will win 10-year terms as County Court judges, and preside over felony criminal cases, which are tried in the Nassau County Criminal Courthouse in Mineola.
Incumbent judges Daniel Palmieri, of Garden City, and Daniel Cotter, of Baldwin, are each seeking re-election to a second term. Incumbent Donald Belfi, of Rockville Centre, seeks a third term. The Democratic challengers are District Court Judge Steven Jaeger, of North Hills, and attorneys Tammy S. Robbins, of Locust Valley, and John L. Kase, of Great Neck.
All six candidates have been deemed "well qualified" by the Judicial Screening Comittee of the Nassau County Bar Association.
Judge Donald Belfi, incumbent
This year marks Belfi's 30th year as a judge in Nassau County. According to the candidate, if he didn't feel he was making a contribution to the residents of Nassau County, he wouldn't be running.
"I still believe I do a good job," Belfi said. "I still enjoy the work. The day that I'm not comfortable in the courtroom is the day that I would retire."
Belfi, 68, was elected to District Court in 1974 and re-elected in 1980. Before the completion of his second six-year term as a District Court judge, Belfi sought and won election to County Court in 1984. He was re-elected in 1994.
Among the high-profile cases he has presided over was the 1994 trial of Colin Fergusen, who was convicted of killing six passengers and wounding 25 more in a shooting spree aboard a Long Island Rail Road train.
Prior to 1974, Belfi spent 12 years as a Nassau County assistant district attorney. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and Fordham Law School.
Belfi is married, and the father of five adult children.
Judge Daniel Cotter, incumbent
In a sense, Cotter grew up in the legal system. His father was an attorney, and the law seemed like a natural direction for him to take.
After earning a bachelor's degree from Boston College and a law degree from St. John's, Cotter, 58, went to work as a Nassau County assistant district attorney. He spent 18 of his 22 years in the Major Offense Bureau of the district attorney's office, prosecuting hundreds of homicides.
He was appointed to District Court in 1994, to fill one of three vacant judgeships. That same year, Cotter won election to County Court. Cotter has a total of more than 30 years' experience in the county's legal system.
"[The law] is really what I had dedicated my life to," Cotter said. "It is important that the county has experience. Experience counts when you're given charge of or are responsbile to administer justice in the most serious cases. That is what the voters should look for, someone who has spent time and gained experience on the bench."
Most recently, Cotter presided over the Peter Troy case. Troy was convicted of killing Father Larry Penzes and Eileen Tosner inside Lynbrook's Our Lady of Peace Church in March 2002.
Cotter is married and has an 11-year-old daughter.
District Court Judge Steven Jaeger, challenger
Prior to being elected to a six-year term as a District Court judge in 2001, Jaeger spent two years working as a law secretary under County Court Judge Meryl Berkowitz. He drafted decisions, scheduled and sat in on conferences and made sure the judge's courtroom ran smoothly.
"Being a law secretary allows you to do almost everything a judge does and observe what a judge does," Jaeger said. "You can then take what you've learned and learn how to apply it to your own work."
This is Jaeger's second bid for election as a County Court judge. He ran unsuccesfully in 2003. According to Jaeger, 53, winning election to County Court has always been a career goal.
Jaeger's career also includes 16 years in private practice, where he specialized in criminal and civil cases, and three years of handling criminal appeals for the Legal Aide Society. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and NYU Law School.
Jaeger is a member of the Jewish Lawyers Association of Nassau County, the Courthouse Kiwanis and the Temple Juda Men's Club as well as the national Board of Directors of the Huntington's Disease Society of America. Huntington's disease is a degenerative neurological disorder.
Jaeger is married and has an adult son.
John L. Kase, challenger
For Kase, being elected a County Court judge would be the culmination of a 36-year career that includes work as both a criminal prosecutor and a defense attorney.
Kase, 62, graduated from NYU and earned his law degree at St. John's. He began his career as an assistant district attorney in the Bronx. He also worked as a special attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Organized Crime and Racketeering Strike Force in New Jersery, and as assistant attorney general assiged to the New York State Organized Crime Task Force. Kase spent three years in the Nassau County District Attorney's Office as chief of the District Court, Narcotics and Rackets bureaus.
In 1978, Kase and a partner founded Kase & Drucker, a firm based in Garden City and Westchester. It specializes in criminal defense and commercial matters. Most recently, Kase has represented Frank Tassone, Roslyn's former superintendent of schools, who is accused of embezzling $1 million from the school district.
Kase believes he will bring understanding of both sides of a case to the bench as well as maturity and an even temper. "I want to be the sort of judge that I would like to try a case in front of or testify in front of or have my case heard by," he said.
Kase lost a bid for election to the New York State Supreme Court last year, after being asked to run just five weeks before Election Day. This year he was approached about running for County Court in April, and it was an opportunity he could not pass up.
Kase is a past president of Temple Emanuel in Great Neck and a former member of the boards of directors of the United Committee Fund of Great Neck, Long Island Jewish Community Services and the Nassau County Bar Association. He is also a charter member of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Kase is divorced, and has two adult daughters.
Judge Daniel Palmieri, incumbent
Shortly after being elected a County Court judge in 1994, Palmieri was appointed an acting Supreme Court justice, primarily handling civil cases of all types. During his ten-year term, he has presided over civil cases in Supreme Court as well as criminal cases in County Court, with the majority being civil. Palmieri says he enjoys his work and is willing to do what is asked of him.
Palmieri, 62, won election to District Court in 1989. "Every judge wants to advance to the higher-level cases," he said. "It's human nature that you want to move forward in your profession."
As much as he enjoys being a judge, Palmieri said his career before the courts was "full and satisfying" and could have been enough for a successful career in the law. "I was doing very well and I was very happy," he said. "I had made known that I would be interested in running sometime in my career. In 1988, I was told I would be given the opportunity. When [the chance] comes around, you take it, because it may not be offered again. It was a huge cut in compensation, but I felt I might regret it if I didn't take it. I have no regrets."
Prior to being elected a judge, Palmieri was a partner in a Long Island firm and an associate partner in a Manhattan firm. He is a graduate of St. John's, where he also earned his law degree. He is married and has two adult daughters.
Tammy S. Robbins, challenger
Robbins has more than 15 years of experience in the courtroom. She served as an assistant district attorney in Nassau County, specializing in prosecuting narcotics cases. Also while working for the district attorney's office, Robbins led the Street Gang Investigative Unit.
More recently, Robbins, 44, has served as counsel to two County Court judges, and she is currently chief counsel to County Court Judge David Ayres.
Robbins is a graduate of SUNY Albany and Hofstra University Law School. She is married with two daughters.
Several attempts were made to contact Robbins, but she had not responded as the Herald went to press.
Comments about this story? NFalco@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
