Ramapo Town Judge Rhoda Schoenberger learned the values of hard work and family early on in life; values which have been a staple of her legal and judicial career for nearly four decades. Growing up in a four-family house with her grandparents and other extended family members, who also spoke Yiddish, her upbringing left a lasting impression on her about the importance of family and community.

Rhoda received a degree in math and psychology, and went on to Columbia University and graduated with a Master’s degree in psychology. However, her earnest desire to become a lawyer since her younger days nagged at her, and when she met a young student of Columbia Law School, she decided to enroll and follow her dream. She would later marry that student, Ilan Schoenberger, who is currently a Rockland County legislator.

The Schoenbergers opened up a practice which is still located on Route 59 in Spring Valley, becoming partners and representing clients who lived in the community.

In 1990, Rhoda Schoenberger was appointed acting Village Justice in Wesley Hills, a position she held until 1995. She enjoyed being on the bench, and when a position in the Ramapo Justice Court opened up in 2000, she put her name forward for consideration and was appointed. She ran for the position in 2001, and was re-elected in 2005. She is now running for her third complete term, and has served as a judge for a total of 13 years.

“When I came into the court, there was a huge backlog in cases, sometimes for issues that were unresolved for 20 years,” Schoenberger said. “I worked to clear that backlog by putting in more time than I was required to, and in the end, that backlog was eliminated,” she continued.

That backlog of cases only got worse after she became a judge, when the village of New Hempstead disbanded its village court. All the cases that were pending before that court were then sent to Ramapo’s court, adding to the caseload. After many months of working longer hours, the caseload was finally cleared.

Being a town justice is about doing more than presiding over traffic tickets and mundane matters. A large part of the position requires judges to be available at all hours to come in at a moment’s notice and preside over arraignments for arrests, which often occur late at night.

Recently, Judge Schoenberger cut a family vacation short to return to the town to process an arraignment and sign warrants. “I’m on call 24/7,” she explained. “People know I have my phone on me at all times, and I always answer the call,” she went on to say.

Just this week, on Monday, which also happened to be Labor Day, Judge Schoenberger once again answered the call- this time at 10 PM. Someone who had been arrested that night needed to be arraigned, and although it could have waited until morning, she did not want the person who was arrested have to stay the night in jail, or have the town incur additional expenses. With little notice, she came to justice court at that late hour.

That’s the kind of dedication that voters can expect if they re-elect her, said Schoenberger. “I take the position of town justice very seriously, and I take the time necessary to succeed in that position,” she concluded.

Judge Rhoda Schoenberger is being challenged in Tuesday’s Democratic Primary by Preserve Ramapo candidate Marc Citrin. Judge Schoenberger has already received the nominations of the Republican, Independence, Conservative, and Working Families parties, and has been endorsed by numerous community leaders in Ramapo.