Amesbury

Amesbury

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WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge William Amesbury Wednesday announced that he will retire at the end of the year and transition to senior judge status in January.

Amesbury, who turned 73 in November, said he received notification from the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, informing him of his approval of senior status.

Amesbury will continue hearing cases assisting the county’s court system as needed.

Amesbury’s retirement is effective Dec. 31, and he will begin senior status in January.

Since Amesbury’s retirement is before the end of the year, the position will be on the ballot for the 2021 primary and general election — one of two seats on the county bench that will be open.

Had Amesbury’s resignation been effective after Jan. 1, Gov. Tom Wolf could have named a replacement for Amesbury that would also need to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, is the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

That would be a two-year appointment and the seat would not be on the ballot until 2023.

Amesbury said his intention was to retire in 2019, but he was assigned a homicide trial in July 2019 with four defendants — two adults and two juveniles.

The four defendants were accused of killing a 71-year-old man in his Edwardsville home. Joseph Monka was found dead in his Edwardsville home in April, with $30,000 missing from his safe. His accused killers — Christopher Brian Cortez, 19, and Devin Malik Cunningham, 20, Mercedes Hall, 16, and Monka’s granddaughter, Gabriella Long, 17 — all appeared before Amesbury on charges of criminal homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide, robbery and other related charges.

“That case ended in October,” Amesbury said. “I didn’t want to leave until that case was closed.”

Amesbury lives in South Wilkes-Barre with his wife, Karen. They have two adult children, Elizabeth and Will.

Amesbury was first elected to the county bench in 2009 for a 10-year term. He was successful in his bid for retention in 2019 for another 10-year term. He would have been allowed to continue serving in full-time status until he reached age 75.

Amesbury also said his family encouraged him to retire to avoid the risk of getting the COVID-19 virus. He said he had tested positive for the virus in July, but explained that recent testing showed he has no antibodies present, which would indicate he actually did not have the virus.

Before being elected to the county bench, Amesbury served as a magisterial district judge in Wilkes-Barre.

Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.