Justice William MacCrea Interview: Part I

Yesterday I interviewed former Town of Alfred Justice William MacCrea at his home. MacCrea served the Town for 18 years, following a long career as an art teacher at Andover Central School. He was born in Niagara Falls, NY and moved to the Southern Tier early in his childhood, where he has remained on the same farm ever since. The transcription is long for the interview, so I'm going to break it up into three or four separate posts. Questions are in bold.

What personal qualities are required to be a sound judge?

He believes in the law. He believes in the majesty of the law; that our system of law is a good system. And that it is in place to defend those who cannot defend themselves. A judge should not utilize the law as a means of pushing his own agenda, in fact, a judge should determine ahead of time that he/she has to divorce him/herself from any wish for, or hope for, any given outcome. In other words, you utilize the law, you listen to testimony, you look at evidentiary material, and on the basis of law and presedent, you render a decision irrespective of what you personally believe.

Have you ever had a person that you convicted confront you on the street?
Yes.

What were the circumstances?

He was a big black kid and I threw him in jail for a couple of months. He approached me and he said, "Judge, is that you, m'man?" And he said to his buddy, "this is the Judge that put me in jail." He was laughing.

And that's it?

That's it.

How many decisions did you have overturned on appeal?

None. I had several appeals and I never had one decision overturned.

Whats the biggest problem with the NYS court system from a village justice's point of view?

I think the biggest problem in the state court system is that the courts have allowed too many agencies to have too much say, too much intrusion into the courts.

Such as?

Such as the Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who pressure judges to send the convicted before what they call 'Victim Impact Panels', which is nothing more than putting a person's wrists and head in a pillory in a public square. It has nothing to do with justice, justice has already been done. Turning people over to the scrutiny of these self-righteous people does nothing, absolutely nothing.

The fact that the SPCA, here a judge guards people's rights, you can't go onto a person's property without a warrant. But the SPCA, because they've won favor, can come into somebody's backyard, and seize their animal because they notice that their dog dish is empty of water.

Don't you empathize with the victims that are represented by these groups?

It isn't a question of whether or not I empathize with them. A judge has to uphold the law. No, its not my place to empathize with anyone. I uphold the law. And therefore people who drag parents into court because they belted their rebellious teenager across the ass, who are these people that are rewriting laws?

The Department of Motor Vehicles, they don't need a court, they've already determined who's guilty. They set up their own fines. Judges are required to meet out the fines that the Department of Motor Vehicles has set forth. This is not justice. That is not a judiciary job, all we (judges) are then is tax collectors. And I tell them, "Get screwed." No, a judge shouldn't work for the Department of Motor Vehicles. Let them uphold their own laws.