Biography of Peter Forman

I started my legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Dutchess County in 1982. During my 3 1/2 year tenure there, I served as the Special DWI Prosecutor in Dutchess County and tried cases in every justice court throughout the county, as well as in County Court, where felonies are adjudicated.

District Attorney William V. Grady also assigned me to the Repeat Felony Offender Bureau where I tried felony cases in Dutchess County Court where the defendant was facing a mandatory prison sentence, if convicted.

After a period of time in private practice, I was appointed by County Court Judge Thomas J. Dolan to serve as his Confidential Law Secretary or law clerk in 1993. In that capacity , I was responsible for researching questions of law, drafting decisions and preparing jury instructions for Judge Dolan. The most valuable time that I spent, however, was my daily contact with Judge Dolan. I had the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process and to observe how a judge renders a difficult decision in complicated criminal cases. It was the best experience in the early years of my legal career.

In 1999, I was appointed by Governor George Pataki to fill a vacancy in Family Court. In November of that year I was elected, without opposition, to that position for a full 10-year term. During my first term, I volunteered to create a Family Treatment Court in Dutchess County. Family Treatment Court (also known as Drug Court) is a problem-solving court that utilizes a different method of working with parents who have substance abuse issues and are in danger of losing (or who have lost) their children to foster care. We opened that court in 2002 and have had 14 graduations featuring over 30 graduates for our program. In 2005, I opened a similar court, Youth Treatment Court, which deals with juveniles with substance abuse issues who are facing a possible out of home placement in a facility. In November 2009, I was re-elected ( again without opposition) to the position of Family Court Judge.

In addition to my usual duties in Family Court (where I handle upwards of 2000 petitions each year), I was assigned by my administrative judge to the position of Acting Supreme Court Justice and Acting County Court Judge in 2002. In that capacity, I have handled matrimonial cases, Article 78 petitions (which are filed by inmates in local prisons) and County Court matters when our County Court Judges are away or not available. On August 3, 2010, I Began hearing cases on a regular basis in County Court. With Judge Dolan’s retirement effective July 30, 2010, I have been asked by Administrative Judge Alan Scheinkman to preside over Judge Dolan’s calendar until the end of the year.

In June , I was elected President of the Dutchess County Bar Association. I have been an active member of the Association’s Executive Committee for the past several years. In 2007, I co-chaired an ad hoc committee in partnership with the Mid-Hudson Women’s Bar Association (of which I am also a member), the Community Foundation and the Black History Committee of the Dutchess County Historical Society to commission a portrait of the late Hon. Jane Bolin. Judge Bolin, a native of Poughkeepsie, who became the first African-American woman to serve as a judge in the nation when she was appointed to the Domestic Relations Court in New York City in 1939. Her portrait now hangs in the Dutchess County Family Court Building on Market Street in Poughkeepsie. I distributed prints of that portrait to every school district in Dutchess County together with a small plaque explaining the significance of her service to the court system.

I am also a Past President and active member of the Exchange Club of Southern Dutchess. For the past twelve years , I have served as a member of the Business Ethics Committee at Healthquest (the corporate parent organization of Vassar Brothers, Northern Dutchess and Putnam Hospitals) and the Parish Council for St.Joachim-St.John the Evangelist Church in Beacon. Since 2001, I have taught a course in Family Law at Marist College as a member of the adjunct faculty.

My wife , Anne, and I have been married for over 30 years and we live in my family homestead in Beacon where the Formans have resided since 1922. We have three beautiful daughters, Kate , Maureen & Becky.

It has been a privilege to serve the residents of Dutchess County for the past 11 years in the Family Court. It is my hope and desire to apply the experience and skills that I have gained over the past 29 years to the position of County Court Judge.