By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

Rod Early's ascension to the post of clerk of court for the U.S. District Court in Buffalo and Rochester wasn't your typical tale of a lifelong dream fulfilled.

A Pennsylvania native, Early may never have called Buffalo home were it not for the fact that in 1976 his wife Amy, upon graduating from medical school, was matched with an internship in the Queen City. Early tagged along and, in the course of hunting for a job, landed a position with the federal probation office as a probation and parole officer.

"That was a position I held for 15 years" - including promotions that saw him rise to chief probation officer - "until the chief judge at the time asked me to consider becoming the clerk of court," Early explained.

Looking for a challenge, he accepted the post, and today, after 17 years overseeing the administrative duties of the court, Early says the time has come to face his next big challenge: stepping aside and retiring after a combined 32 years of federal service.

"Although it was a difficult decision to reach, the time was right, for a variety of personal factors, to retire," he said.

At the end of January, Early will pass the baton to the incoming court clerk, Michael Roemer. As he prepares to say goodbye, Early sat down in his office to reflect on his nearly two decades as administrator of the district court.

Buffalo Law Journal: How did you decide after all these years that now was the time to retire?

Rod Early: There were a lot of factors, but I have a 2-year-old granddaughter who may be leaving the area to return to my hometown in Pennsylvania, and wherever the granddaughter is, I'd like to be too, for obvious reasons. Although nothing is cemented in place, we could conceivably be looking at a relocation back to Pennsylvania.

I also have a cottage down at Lake Chautauqua, and I'd like to spend some more time down there.

BLJ: How has this job evolved over the last 17 years, and how have the cases the court handles changed?

RE: I would have to say that it has changed dramatically over the last 17 years in a number of ways.

One, of course, is the technology and automation. When I came to the court in 1976, we were doing electronic docketing of civil and criminal case files, but we were using the huge UNISYS machine with the tapes and the reel-to-reel type of thing. Over the years, that evolved to today with case management, (the) electronic case filing system where the bar is able to actually file their cases electronically and never have to leave their office.

As far as the cases we've seen, there has been an increase in civil filings since the early 1990s, and certainly we have seen a substantial increase in criminal filings. That's not to say we have had a substantial rise in the crime rate in Western New York. I think that came about as a result of Congress making so many more crimes actually federal offenses.

We have also seen a shift in the types of crimes we see in this court. In my first 10 or 12 years, when I was a probation officer with the court, we handled mostly white-collar crime - organized crime, postal-law violations, theft-of-mail types of cases. But over time, we are getting a different kind of criminal in this court today. We are seeing more and more dangerous criminals instead of income-tax evaders.

BLJ: What has been your biggest challenge during your tenure?

RE: Well, I think making certain the court has every resource available to it that it needed to do its job, particularly in times when funding was restricted. For many years, we had to do a lot more with less personnel,and that was a huge challenge, though I certainly think we successfully met that challenge.

BLJ: If you had to choose an accomplishment of this office you are especially proud of from your tenure, what would it be?

RE: Something I'm actually very proud of is the fact that in the early 1990s the judiciary took a step that no other branch of government has ever done, and that is decentralizing their budgeting process so that every district court is given their own budget. On Oct. 1 they give you a pot of money (for the year) and they say ‘Do with it what you want.' Although it is a tremendous responsibility, it brings control of spending here to Buffalo.

For example, we have been able to meet all of the needs of the court, and last fiscal year, I returned over $400,000 that we didn't need. In prior years it has been $250,000, maybe $300,000 and that is only possible because we are managing the money locally. I'm sure that I have been called a penny-pincher and a tightwad from time to time, but it is taxpayer dollars and I take that responsibility very seriously.

BLJ: What are you going to miss the most come Feb. 1?

RE: Without a question I'm going to miss the people I work with. That is one of the things that has made this decision a pretty difficult one.

I've built a lot of very strong relationships here, and I think I was successful in making some very good hiring decisions through the years, putting some very talented people in key positions. That certainly makes a clerk's job easier, and I will miss those people.

I have some pretty amazing people here - they are determined, hard-working and I think they do a marvelous job.