Why retirement won’t stop District Judge Carmine Prestia Jr. from serving State College
Carmine Prestia Jr.’s marriage and professional career of public service in State College have mirrored each other for nearly five decades, but the former is about to step ahead.
Prestia, a borough police officer-turned-district judge, was married and move to State College in 1970. He served as an officer from 1970 until 1995, and was sworn in as district judge one year later.
He is set to retire Sunday after four terms as a district judge. But the son of a volunteer fire firefighter, who also raised both of his sons to be firefighters, plans to continue giving back to the community by volunteering at Alpha Fire Company.
“The people in the borough of State College have paid my salary for the past 49 years,” Prestia said Friday in his downtown State College courtroom. “So what do I do? I find some way to give back. ... I think it’s important for people to do that.”
The avid technology fan who said he “likes to be on the cutting edge” was instrumental in changing how Pennsylvania courts operate.
He claimed in November 1996 to be the first district judge in Pennsylvania history to establish a website that distributed information about his office — something that is now ubiquitous in each of the state’s 67 counties.
He also pushed in December 2005 to allow district judges to arraign those accused of a crime by video. The change increased safety and reduced the amount of time police had to serve as a transportation service, he said.
It also came with a few other perks, like allowing him to occasionally conduct an arraignment from his State College home with a robe over his pajamas.
“I had nights where I was so busy that I actually used to sleep on the pews because they would be calling me out so often that it wasn’t worthwhile going home,” Prestia said. “... The video just seemed to be the logical way to get this done.”
Prestia, 71, did not seek a fifth six-year term because he said he did not want to “short change” voters. The state constitution requires judges to retire when they’re 75.
The eldest district judge in Centre County is scheduled to be replaced by former State College Mayor Don Hahn, whose first day is scheduled to be Monday.
Allen Sinclair — who has served since 1997 — is set to be the longest tenured district judge in Centre County, followed by Tom Jordan, who served under Prestia as a borough police officer.
“When I first came on the job (in 2002) — and when many of the other new judges came on the job — we relied heavily on his advice, his experience, his knowledge and his expertise,” Jordan said. “... He’s always been very active and taken a leadership role. We are forever grateful for his leadership and guidance. He’s going to be sorely missed.”
Prestia is one of three district judges in Centre County who does not have a law degree. His commonsense approach will be missed by the community, lawyer Jim Bryant said.
“He is the epitome of the argument that attorneys should not be district justices. He was fair; he was competent. He did not have some of the attitude that you get when you’re an attorney and a magisterial district judge. We will miss him,” Bryant said. “... When you go to law school you lose a lot of common sense.”
In addition to volunteering at the fire company, which he has done since 1972, Prestia said he plans to spend more time with his family and wife ahead of their golden wedding anniversary, tinker with amateur radios and build a model train layout.
He likely won’t be hanging up his robe forever, as he was already approved to serve as a senior judge.
“In whatever you do, especially in this realm, be fair,” Prestia said. “... Do the right things for the right reasons.”
This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 8:00 AM.