LAWRENCE: Municipal judge plans retirement

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   After 15 years on the bench in the courtroom at the Lawrence Township Municipal Court, Judge Paul Catanese is retiring at the end of this month, according to township officials.
   Now the search is on for a replacement for Judge Catanese, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said. The deadline to apply to serve as Municipal Court judge is 10 a.m. on May 3, he said. Township Council makes the appointment.
   An advertisement has already been placed in the newspaper and the opening also has been advertised on the township’s website at www.lawrencetwp.com, Mr. Krawczun said. Applicants should submit a resume and a letter of interest and a list of the “unique qualities” they would bring with them that would benefit the court, he said.
   Township Council will interview up to three of the top candidates, and then make its decision later this month, Mr. Krawczun said. The goal is to appoint a new judge in time for that person to take over effective June 1, he said.
   The newly appointed judge will receive a half-day’s training from Judge Catanese, who is Mercer County’s presiding Municipal Court judge, he said. The new judge will fill out the remainder of Judge Catanese’s three-year term, which expires in February 2012.
   Judge Catanese, who was first appointed as Lawrence Township Municipal Court judge in October 1996, is paid $88,544 annually.