Just when he thought he was out...
Orange County Court Judge Stewart Rosenwasser is going from one political frying pan into the proverbial barbecue.
He usually presides over criminal cases, but a shortage of civil judges has pressed Rosenwasser into service as an acting state Supreme Court justice for next month's hearing on a lawsuit filed last year by Orange County against the Village of Kiryas Joel. The county is challenging the environmental review of KJ's plan to build a pipeline that'll tap into New York City's upstate water system.
Kiryas Joel has some of the biggest electoral muscles up here, because of its ability to turn out thousands of voters as a bloc.
Earlier this year, Rosenwasser presided over the nonjury trial of three Middletown officials. He acquitted two of them of all the felony and misdemeanor charges they faced, and he also acquitted Mayor Joe DeStefano of all but two misdemeanor charges. The misdemeanors were still enough to force DeStefano to resign. The former Democratic powerhouse accused Republican adversaries of conducting a politically motivated witch hunt.
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2005/05/06/mackson0.htm
