Hummel

The latest chatter to coming from the courthouse – as well as from some political operatives – is that Surrogate Court Judge Christian Hummel will be a federal magistrate once he clears a background check by the FBI.

According to Judgepedia – a website similar to Wikipedia except it provides info on just judges which I happened across after I Googled Hummel’s name for some background – Hummel was an East Greenbush judge from 1986 to 1992, a Rensselaer County Family Court judge from 1993 to 2001 and has been a judge on the Surrogate Court since 2002.

The Republican is a pretty popular guy on both sides of the aisle and last year won his re-election bid with 99.8 percent of the vote. Of course, it helped that the Democrats didn’t put anyone up against him but there’s probably good reason for that. Though, while he does work as an acting judge on the Supreme Court, he was snubbed for a full time gig in the more high profile spot in 2005.

Anyway, according to the FederalMagistrate Judges Association website – another website and association I’ve never heard of but stumbled upon thanks to Google – Hummel was appointed by “the life-tenured federal judges of a district court” and will serve an eight-year stint once the FBI completes its background check. A magistrate makes $155,000 a year.

Since I’m guessing Hummel’s background is just like the squeaky-clean persona he projects he’s a shoe-in for the magistrate’s job. The question on the minds of the attorneys, other lower level judges and operatives who run their campaigns now is when he will step down.

According to Rensselaer County Board of Elections, if Hummel steps down before Sept. 20 there will be an election this November for the seat. If it happens after that date, there won’t be an election until November 2013 and Gov. Andrew Cuomo can appoint a judge until the winner of that election takes the bench in January, 2014.  There is nearly no chance of the FBI clearing Hummel before petitions are due on July 12, and if he steps down between then and Sept. 20, the individual party’s rules determine who its candidates will be this November.

There are some other nuances in the mix, but the key date is Sept. 20. If he steps down before then there will be an election this November. After that date and it won’t happen until 2013.

Hummel could not be reached for comment.