Robert C DeLamatre

Question 1

List your judicial experience (courts and years)

I was elected to the Court in 2001.  At that time the Court excercised both Juvenile and Domestic Relations jurisdictions. The creation of another Judgeship changed that jurisdiction in 2006 and thus I have been the Juvenile Court judge since that time.  I am starting my 24th year on the bench.  Prior to my election, I diversified my experience including being a Magistrate to make sure I was impassioned and prepared to meet the many demands of juvenile court.

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Question 2

What non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?

I was interested in becoming a Judge a short time after I began the pratice of law.  It seemed to me that I should vary my experience to make sure i understood the various roles and their respective advocacy requirements.  Before becoming Judge, I had a private law office where I handled varied matters such as family law, juvenile, probate, municipal court, real estate cases, to name a few.

I was hired as an Assistant Prosecutor for Erie County in 1988.  I was assigned to juvenile court where I prosecuted juvenile delinquency, unruly, and juvenile traffic offenses along with the occasional adult contributing charge.  I was also the back up attorney for children's services cases.  I left juvenile Court in 1995 and was hired as an Assistant Prosecutir in Ottawa County and assigned to municipal Court where I obtained valuable jury trial experience.  In 1997, I was asked to come back to the Erie County Prosecutors Office to fill in a vacancy at County Court for a year.  In 1998, I was appointed as an Assistant Law Director where I was assigned to handle the Municipal Court prosecutions.

The last achievement was being appointed as a Magistrate where I gained valuable experience in managing a courtroom and making decions based on the evidence presented.

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Question 3

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

Since becoming Judge, I have established award winning, best practice interventions to be responsible to the citizens who come before the Court.  I established these programs in a way that is responsible to the taxpayers, frequently using grant monies to establish.  

I have involved my self in state organizations and the Judicial College to improve my understanding of the law and to advocate.

My job is a complex one, I am the clerk of the juvenile court, I maintian diversion, probation, truancy, home detention and mediation programs to best meet the needs of some referrals to court. I also am respoonsible for the day to day operations of a detention center as well as a long-term CCF program.  There are enormous administrative responsibilities as a result. The budget is over 6 million dollars and there are approximately 80 employees.

When it comes Juvenile Court, experience matters, and DeLamatre Delivers!

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