The Hon. Paul Czajka (Ret.) was a judge for the Columbia County Court Multi-Bench in the Third Judicial District of New York. He was elected to the bench in 1994 and retained in subsequent elections. Czajka retired in 2011.
While on the County Court, Czajka also served as an acting justice of the Columbia County Supreme Court.
He received a B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany in 1977. Czajka went on to complete a J.D. at Western New England University School of Law in 1981.
His legal career includes serving as a public defender (1986 to 1987) and District Attorney (1988 to 1994) in Columbia County. In addition, Czajka served as an assistant district attorney with the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office from 1981 to 1985. Czajka had a stint in private practice in 1982 and also worked as an attorney for the Town of Germantown, the Germantown Fire District, and the Livingston Fire District.
Prior to attending university, Czajka served as a volunteer in the United States Peace Corps (1974 to 1975), where he did volunteer work in the Philippines. In 1979, Czajka, who worked on his family’s farm in Livingston, New York, was elected to serve as a member of the U.S.D.A.’s Agricultural Service Community Committee. He would later serve as chairman of the Committee.
Czajka left the bench in 2011 to make another bid for Columbia County District Attorney.