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Bar Association names scholarship in honor of Judge Snyder |
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Thursday, 09 November 2006 |
 The Jefferson County Bar Association honored retired senior Judge Edwin L. Snyder by establishing a scholarship fund in his name. Pictured are (from left) senior Judge William Henry; President Judge John H. Foradora; Snyder; Greg Kruk, Esq., president of the Jefferson County Bar Association; and John Achille, Esq., association treasurer. (Photo by Larry McGuire of The Punxsutawney Spirit)
BROOKVILLE - Retired senior Judge Edwin L. Snyder will continue as a role model for aspiring law students for many years to come, thanks to the Jefferson County Bar Association.
Snyder, who has been a Common Pleas Judge for 33 years, was honored this week by the Bar Association with a scholarship fund in his honor.
"At the first meeting of the Bar Association in 2006, we decided to recognize Judge Snyder's excellence as a Common Pleas Judge, and we thought this was the most appropriate way to do so," said Greg Kruk Esq., president of the Bar Association. "Judge Snyder was always dedicated to the law, and he expected us as attorneys practicing in front of him to know the law, and the facts, and to present them in a straight-forward manner.
"He was very patient with the younger attorneys," Kruk said. "He knew that the young attorneys who recently graduated from law school did not have the well of experience to draw from.
"He had a great belief in education, and he stressed it throughout his career," Kruk said. "He made sacrifices himself to acquire his law school education, and it was not easy for him as a person returning from the service and starting a family, as well as a career."
Snyder was presented with a plaque that will hang in the attorneys' room in the courthouse.
"This is a very high honor, and I thank you very much," Snyder said. "I consider it's a particularly meaningful honor for a judge, since it comes from the attorneys who appeared before me time and time again - sometimes winning, sometimes losing - but always, I trust, believing I made my decisions impartially, and according to the law applicable to the issue at hand.
"That was always my goal, at least, and receiving this honor helps me believe I accomplished it," he said.
Snyder said the Bar Association serves the public interest and is not just attorneys promoting their private interests.
"The Bar Association serves the public in many ways, and it was my good fortune during my 20 years as president judge to have the Jefferson County Bar Association as a working partner in improving the administration of justice," Snyder said.
One of the accomplishments was the modernization of local rules of court, Snyder said.
"The rules we had when I became president judge were over 50 years old and badly in need of updating," he said. "It was a tedious and time-consuming task that required several evening sessions to complete."
Another stride made by the Bar Association included computerizing the court system, as well as the renovations in the main courtroom.
"When Supreme Court Chief Justice Flaherty presided over the dedication of the renovated courtroom, he referred to it as one of the most handsome courtrooms in Pennsylvania," Snyder said.
He said his favorite project by the Bar Association was the Mock Trial Competition," watching the students learn how a court trial is really conducted, not like what they see on TV.
"In receiving this honor today, I want to express my great appreciation to the Jefferson County Bar Association for how much it contributed to having made my judicial career so personally satisfying.
"Keep up your good work, so all of those bad attorney jokes can be put to rest," he said. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 10 November 2006 )
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