Jammel Cutler at Columbia-Greene Media reports that the three Democrat candidates vying to win two seats as Columbia County judge this fall participated in a candidate forum on Feb. 16. Incumbent county judges Richard Koweek and Jonathan Nichols are both not seeking reelection, leaving two rare open seats. But before that Brian J. Herman, of Copake, Mark S. Portin, of Ghent, and Michael C. Howard, of Hudson compete in a primary election June 17 through June 27. Howard spoke of a specific experience in the courtroom. “I was the public defender assigned to Hudson City Court when the Hudson police first got the grant to buy tasers.... When it first happened, tasers were being used with a high degree of frequency and were usually applied to people that had the least ability to resist. I took two cases. I sued The Hudson Police Department and I sued individual officers in two separate cases where I thought they exceeded their rights and their authority to use them. I was able to depose those officers. I was able to get their handbooks and documents. I was able to figure out it was all about money and funding, and it was a toy for the police to utilize. Because of the suit, the number of taser uses went down dramatically and we rarely see tasers used in the City of Hudson now." Portin, Ghent’s town justice, said that judges are, "there for life-altering questions and life-altering situations having to do with some of the most serious and painstakingly intricate types of legal questions that come up and that people are affected by. I have a history and track record of understanding the impact on individuals who don’t have the ability to hire lawyers or don’t have the ability to afford counsel. In treating everyone fairly and equally.” Herman said, “A judge who is sensitive and treats people with dignity and integrity elevates the whole environment of the courtroom. On the other hand, judges who are short-tempered, arrogant and mean-spirited work against pursuing justice in a courtroom. I’ve seen judges that acted in inappropriate ways, which subjected people to injustice in the courtroom.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.