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John Aciukewicz announces his candidacy for Luzerne County judge Saturday at the American Legion in Nanticoke. He said he prosecuted 30 to 35 jury trials as a former assistant district attorney.
Fred Adams/for the times leader
NANTICOKE – Private practice attorney and former Luzerne County assistant district attorney John Aciukewicz will run for Luzerne County judge in the 2011 election.
“The reason I’m running for judge is that I truly believe it’s a position of service;” Aciukewicz said Saturday, “that I can have a positive impact on the courts; that I can have a positive impact on the community, so that we can shed the image of corruption that it’s accrued so that the courts can move forward.”
Speaking at The American Legion in Nanticoke, Aciukewicz said the breadth of his legal experience is what sets him apart from other attorneys seeking judgeship in the May primaries and November election.
Aciukewicz said he prosecuted between 30 to 35 jury trials as an assistant district attorney and argued five complete civil trials as a sole practitioner. He also has extensive family law experience.
Aciukewicz said that as a Luzerne County judge, he might be assigned by the president judge to hear cases in any of those three areas, and he “would be confident and comfortable in any of those courtrooms.”
“It’s unusual to have that level of experience in those three areas,” the aspiring judge said. “That’s why I am confident I can perform the duties confidently and capably as a judge.”
Aciukewicz also spoke of his integrity and community involvement, which he described as the second prong of his campaign.
Aciukewicz spoke of his upbringing in Nanticoke and Mocanaqua as formative of his character, and that he continues to stay involved in his community, seeking to balance his participation in an array of volunteer, church and community groups.
He currently serves on advisory boards for Mercy Services, Mercy Consultation Center and the Luzerne County Convention Authority and formerly sat on boards for the Victims Resource Center and Habitat for Humanity. He is also an active member of St. Therese’s Church, Shavertown, and a high school basketball referee.
“My background is extensive in my legal experience,” Aciukewicz said, “but my community experience, my involvement in my community and my church, makes me a balanced candidate… I believe that I’m a person of integrity. I believe that I’m a person who’s a very good lawyer who will make an excellent judge.”
John Aciukewicz
Age: 52
Education: Gettysburg College, B.A., political science; Dickinson School of Law, juris doctor.
Community affiliations: Mercy Services; Mercy Consultation Center; Luzerne County Convention Authority; Victims Resource Center; Habitat for Humanity; St. Therese’s Church, Shavertown; Officiates basketball; former youth baseball and basketball coach.
Family: Wife, Beth Aciukewicz; sons, Josh, Zach and Aaron.