Island judge running unopposed for reelection
Although she’s running unopposed on Democratic, Republican and Conservative lines for a third full four-year term as a Shelter Island Justice Court judge, Helen Rosenblum hopes that when you’re casting your votes for president and other offices on November 6, you’ll cast one for her as a show of confidence in her work.
“It would mean a lot to me to know that people took the trouble to vote for me,” Ms. Rosenblum said of this year’s election. “It would be an endorsement of my efforts to be fair … with every person who comes before me.”
She’s the only town official on the ballot in this year’s election.
Judge Rosenblum has served the court since January 2004, when she was appointed by the Town Board to fill the seat of Judge Edward “Pete” Hannabury, who died on December 31, 2003. The following November, Ms. Rosenblum ran for her first full four-year term and was re-elected to a second term in November 2008.
“I will always honor Pete and try to follow in his footsteps,” Ms. Rosenlum said when she was sworn in to succeed Judge Hannabury, who had served on the bench for 24 years.
Judge Rosenblum shares Justice Court responsibilities with Judge Mary-Faith Westervelt, whose current term expires in 2014. The two alternate their Justice Court responsibilities every other month.
Judge Rosenblum has been presiding judge of the East End Regional Intervention Court that deals with defendants facing drug-related charges who agree to participate in an alternative rehabilitation program. Failure to comply results in a jail sentence. The Intervention Court doesn’t handle cases involving DWI, selling drugs for profit rather than to support a drug habit, or defendants with a history of violent crimes, mental illness or any medical condition that prohibits full participation in a rehabilitation program.
Judge Rosenblum has a law practice in Riverhead, focusing on matrimonial and family law, land-use issues and estate and probate matters. She also provides mediation services for couples who are separating or getting divorced.
She served as Shelter Island Town attorney from 1986 to 2001 and provides legal advice to the Shelter Island Fire District.
Judge Rosenblum is an EMT-critical care provider with the Shelter Island Ambulance Corps. She serves on Suffolk County committees that deal with emergency services.
Judge Rosenblum attended Loyola University School of Law in Los Angeles and Fordham University School of Law in New York City, receiving her J. D. degree from Fordham in 1975. She worked in the film industry for several years before starting her own law practice in Riverhead in 1984.
