 The Value of a Cooley Education - Cooley Alumni Weigh In: Luzerne County PA: Cooley’s Home Away from Home By: Richard Shermanski ( John Marshall, 2013) With Contributions from: Judge William Amesbury and District Attorney Stephanie Salavantis
During
my externship in Luzerne County Pennsylvania in January 2013 I had the
opportunity to work with and learn from two Thomas M. Cooley Law School
graduates who have made quite a name for themselves in my home county. Although
Luzerne is home to over 30 Cooley Graduates, these two individuals, William
(Bill) Amesbury and Stephanie Salavantis, have both achieved a level of great
success by being elected to the Court of Common Pleas and District Attorney
respectively. I approached the both of them with the opportunity to help me
write an article for the new digital Pillar and both were more than happy to
help. Their
stories, memories of Cooley and their professional development are chronicled
as follows: During the last four years Cooley Law School graduates have advanced the school’s reputation by winning county-wide elections. First, in 2002 William H. Amesbury was elected as Magisterial District Judge for Court 11-1-01 (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.). In 2007 he won reelection and in 2009 he was elected to the Court of Common Pleas for the 11th Judicial District for a term of 10 years and was installed on January 4, 2010. One
of the new judges who has pledged to restore confidence and trust in Luzerne County’s
Judiciary, William H. Amesbury (Grant Class, 1987) has faced and continues to
deal with the fall-out (for the last four years) from the “Kids for Cash”
scandal. As the reader may be aware, Luzerne County was rocked with one of the
worst judicial scandals that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has ever experienced. Stated simply, two Common Pleas judges, one
of which was the President Judge who presided over juvenile cases, were brought
up on various charges in Federal Court. The cases have been tried, the judges
pled or were convicted and subsequently sentenced. However, the stain on the County has not been
cleansed nor will it be for decades.
Amesbury
was a Magisterial District Judge from 2002-2009. Dealing with a traditional caseload, he
developed intervention or therapy programs for juveniles charged with either
delinquency or dependency. By
jurisdiction, a Magistrate does not have the authority to incarcerate or place
a minor in a structured supervised setting.
In terms of treating minors, Amesbury along with local agencies developed five (5) categories of children with specific or overlapping problems that needed treatment, not placement. Readers with a therapeutic and/or educational background will recognize the following classifications which include: (1) bullying; (2) social promotions; (3) children with well-defined emotional problems such as childhood schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, mood disorders or anxiety disorder; (4) Asperger Syndrome, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders, Impulsive Behavior Disorder; and (5) the largest group – ineffective parenting. In
2009, Luzerne County’s Amesbury was one of two judges elected to the Court of
Common Pleas from a list of seventeen candidates that entered the primary
election. During the primary, he was
fortunate enough to win nominations on both the Democratic and Republican
tickets. In November, 2009, he was top
vote getter and in January, 2010 he became a member of the Court of Common
Pleas.
During
the last 3+ years, Amesbury has been assigned primarily to the Civil Division
with his Criminal assignment limited to homicides or cases involving competency
and pleas for those individuals who suffer from well-defined emotional
disorders but do not satisfy the Pennsylvania version of the McNaughton Rule.
Since
2012, Amesbury has been the Supervising Judge for Luzerne County Treatment
Courts consisting of a Drug/Alcohol Treatment Program, a Mental Health
Treatment Team and a Veteran’s Court.
Amesbury’s prior experience as a secondary education teacher,
psychiatric social worker with eleven years at three separate Pennsylvania
in-patient hospitals, including a forensic unit and as Clinical Supervisor for
Crisis Intervention which dealt with HM, D/A, Children & Youth, and Bureau
of Aging makes him the ideal person to supervise these programs. In fact on February 13, 2013 the Honorable
Seamus P. McCaffery, Associate Justice, Pennsylvania Supreme Court, recognized
the Luzerne County Treatment Court as the 5th County Court to
successfully complete the arduous accreditation process. The Treatment Team is justifiably proud of
this major accomplishment.
Amesbury
has also coached T-Ball, Minor League, Little League, Teener League and
American Legion Baseball, Girls’ Softball and CYC Basketball for over thirty
(30) years.
Amesbury’s
two most favorite memories from Cooley were winning the intramural softball
championship in 1987 while playing with such stalwarts as Phil Prygoski, R. Joseph Kimble, Tom
Rombach, Mike Sheridan, Dick Bachelder (the real “MVP”), Brian Lange, John
Viggiani, Ed Waters, Mike Cotter, Mark Plawecki and Peter O’Donnell. Bill still has his blue shirt which
identified “LAW” (Last of the Almost Winners) as champs.
Bill
will never forget the study groups, which changed over the years but included
Ed Waters, Ann Waters, Therese “T” Cross, Kathy Gaydos, Lisa Traubado, Charles
“Chip” Kleinbrook, “Mo” Burns, Joy Fossel, Mickey Castagne and Doug Wohl.
As a Judge, Bill has provided Externships to Cooley students over the last three years and this includes 3rd year students such as Michael Sharkey and, at present, Richard Shermanski.
Bill and his wife, Karen have two children that are following in Dad’s footsteps. Daughter Elizabeth graduated with Higher Distinction from the Pennsylvania State University in May, 2012. Liz was awarded an academic scholarship to the James Beasley School of Law, Temple University. Liz reported that the first term is just as terrifying as it was in 1984. His son, Will plans to enter the Pennsylvania State University at State College in September, 2013. Bill
would be remiss if he didn’t thank Cooley, its administration, faculty,
financial advisors, and library staff.
Most of all, he will always remember the men and women he was fortunate
enough to meet during his three years at Cooley. From 1984-1987 collectively those students
were Cooley. Today we have moved forward professionally and have garnered a
certain amount of status, prestige and wealth because of the opportunity
afforded to us by Cooley.
In
2012 a more recent graduate, Stefanie Salavantis, pulled off a major upset when
she defeated a two-term incumbent District Attorney. Stefanie was installed as Luzerne County
District Attorney in January, 2012 for a term of 4 years. I asked the District
Attorney to write about her experience at Cooley and her election in her own
words;
“I always
wanted to be an attorney, but never saw myself in the political arena. After graduating from Thomas M. Cooley Law School,
I made the decision to return home to Luzerne County where my closest family
and friends resided. I began my
profession by opening my own practice and working part-time as an insurance
defense attorney for one of the nation’s leading insurance carriers. I had no intention of running for office;
however, I became outraged by what was occurring in the small town where I grew
up – the political corruption of local politician. Luzerne County was reported by national news
as one of, if not the most corrupt town in the entire nation. Reporters from all national broadcasting
stations were reporting how the Luzerne County Common Pleas Judges, one being
the President Judge, violated the constitutional rights of juveniles in the
criminal system and now known throughout the world as the “Kids for Cash”
scandal.
I was outraged by these headlines, but I was even more upset by the fact that not one Republican in all of Luzerne County was running against the incumbent District Attorney who was a supervisor in the office when these juveniles’ rights were being violated. Everything changed when I realized the filing deadline passed and no one had submitted a Petition to run against the incumbent District Attorney. I knew that
in order for Luzerne County to have a fresh, new beginning, the incumbent had
to be unseated. I spoke to my family and
closest colleagues to ask for their support and what I received was
unfathomable.
In May of
2011, a week before the primary election, I launched my write-in campaign. No one believed I would be able to pull it
off. People were even saying they felt
sorry for me because I was trying to accomplish something that was nearly
impossible. But I did it! I received well over the number of write-ins
needed to be on the general ballot from both Republicans and Democrats
throughout Luzerne County.
That was
just the beginning. From June to
October, I knocked on hundreds upon hundreds of doors and expressed the change
I wanted to see in our County. The odds
were against me, but I had enough of the ‘good ol’ boys’ network. I was eager to show that there are bright,
young, energetic individuals throughout the area that want to make a
difference; the old way of doing the job was not working anymore and what we
needed were fresh, new ideas.
Despite the
disadvantage I faced with registrants, the strong political name of the
incumbent and her years of prosecutorial experience and receiving no support by
the local newspapers and media outlets, I won.
It is a night I can hardly remember but will never be forgotten.
I owe a lot
of my success to Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
It was instilled in me to be the best and most ethical attorney I could
be. It taught me the practical side of
law, not just theory, and its education helped prepare me to pass the bar and
step into the courtroom the next day.
And, the best part was that it provided scholarships to help keep me
from drowning in debt after graduation.
Attending
Cooley was the best decision I could have ever made. Some of the people I met at Cooley will never
be forgotten no matter the distance between us.
We grew up together and learned what life, friendship and studying
really meant. I will never forget the
long nights in the library, the daily lunches at Deckers where we would dine
with our professors, the stress relief at the YMCA between classes and the
celebratory parties we would throw when we finished our last exam.
It was sad
to leave the many friends I made from all over the world; however, they will
always remain my extended family, and I know just as well as they know, we will
always remain connected because of Cooley.”
Although my externship is over and Graduation has come and gone, I too have decided to stay in Luzerne County as well. Like Judge Amesbury and DA Salavantis, this County is my home and I wish to help rebuild its once grand reputation.
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