Kozakiewicz and Costello seek Republican nod for town justice

Riverhead Town Attorney Robert Kozakiewicz would like to succeed Town Justice Richard Ehlers on the bench in Riverhead Justice Court.

Kozakiewicz told RiverheadLOCAL Wednesday he has submitted his resume to the Republican committee seeking to be screened to run for the justice post in this November’s election.

Riverhead attorney Jeanmarie Costello has also submitted her resume to the Republican committee, she said this week.

At least two other candidates have expressed interest in the judicial nomination, according to Republican party officials, who declined to name names.

The Republican party has set a deadline of today for the submission of resumes by people interested in screening for one of the local elective positions.

The Riverhead Democratic Committee is currently seeking resumes from candidates interested in screening for all town offices except town clerk, an office held by Diane Wilhelm, one of two elected Democrats in Riverhead town government. The other elected Democrat, Highway Superintendent George Woodson, who was re-elected in a landslide victory in 2013, is in the middle of four-year term. Interested candidates should email their resumes to screening committee chairman John Stefans (jstef365@aol.com)

Ehlers announced last week his intent to retire from the position at the expiration of his current term this December 31.

Both Costello and Kozakiewicz are Riverhead natives who have practiced law in town since the mid-1980s.

Costello holds a law degree from St. John’s University (1981) and undergraduate degrees in sociology, urban studies and criminal justice. She is a 1978 summa cum laude graduate of St. Francis College. She was admitted to the New York State bar in 1982 and is licensed in the United States District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts.

Costello had internships in the Suffolk Country District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Suffolk County Court Law Department and the Suffolk County Court Office of the Chief Clerk. She worked as a litigator for the NYC Corporation Counsel for three years before establishing a private practice in downtown Riverhead in 1986.

Kozakiewicz holds a bachelor of science (1979) from Marist College, where he majored in political science and government. He earned a law degree from Albany Law School in 1983.

Kozakiewicz worked as an associate in the law offices of Peter Danowski and served as Riverhead town attorney in the administration of Supervisor James Stark, 1996-97. Kozakiewicz served two terms as town supervisor (2000-2003) and was appointed town attorney by the current town board in January 2011.

The justice court has jurisdiction over a broad range of cases, including vehicle and traffic matters, small claims, evictions, civil matters and criminal offenses. Riverhead’s is an extremely busy courtroom, with packed criminal calendars at least three days each week and civil calendars, civil and criminal trials and criminal arraignments on the other two days. Also the judges are on call around the clock, seven days a week to preside over criminal arraignments.

The position of town justice currently carries a salary, set by the town board, of $75,093, plus benefits. It is considered a part-time position. The two town justices in Riverhead typically alternate weeks on the bench, though they often oversee proceedings and conduct trials during “off” weeks.

Under state law, a person need not be an attorney to hold the town justice position, but a person elected to the justice position who is not a member of the N.Y. state bar is required to complete a training course prescribed by the state judicial conference.