To the editor:
Attorney Karen Docter has been a DeWitt resident for 45 years. A member of the DeWitt Town Board since 2015, Karen is running this fall for DeWitt town justice.
With her calm and quiet demeanor, Karen comes across to those who meet her as a careful, deliberate and responsible person. She grew up in Syracuse and attended Nottingham High School, Onondaga Community College and Cornell University. She earned master’s degrees in child development and in education from Syracuse University. After teaching for six years, she earned her law degree at Syracuse University. For the last 25 years, she has been an attorney in private practice, which includes litigation, collaborative law and mediation.
Town and village justice courts play a vital role in the New York State Unified Court System; they are the courts closest to the people of the town or village in which the court is located. These courts are authorized to handle matters involving the prosecution of misdemeanors and violations that are committed within the town’s or village’s geographic boundaries. Town and village justices also conduct arraignments and preliminary hearings in misdemeanor and felony matters, as well as Vehicle and Traffic Law misdemeanors and traffic infractions.
The town justice hears actions seeking monetary awards and presides over small claims proceedings and landlord/tenant matters. Additionally, town justices are often called upon to act as Family Court judges in domestic violence matters when Family Court is not in session.
People come to court for many reasons, but they all have one thing in common — a legal problem that needs to be addressed. During her long career, Karen has advocated for individuals in matters that include criminal, family, substance abuse and mental health issues, and juvenile justice. She believes that her skills as a lawyer, mediator and teacher make her uniquely suited to the judicial role and have given her the ability to deal with any challenging issue brought before her.
Karen has received numerous college and professional awards. She is endorsed by the Onondaga County Democratic Committee, the DeWitt Democratic Committee, the Central New York and Western New Community Action Program Council, United Auto Workers, Region 9, and the New York Working Families Party. She has shown dedication to the community, and is confident that her sense of fairness and her experience will serve her as DeWitt town judge.
DeWitt Democratic Committee
