A 57-year-old New York Judge died after suffering a heart attack in the courtroom while on the bench.
Putman County Court Judge James Reitz suffered a heart attack while performing his duties Friday morning, a spokesman for the state court system said.
Mary Ellen Odell, executive of Putnam County, told the New York Law Journal that Reitz completed a case and then asked for help. “He said: ‘John, I think I need you to help me,'” Odell said.
Court officials immediately performed CPR and used an automatic electronic defibrillator to try to save Reitz’s life until an ambulance arrived.
It is not clear if the judge had previous or ongoing health problems. The judge died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Reitz, who lived in Mahopac, had been a county judge since 2007 and was also an interim judge in the state Supreme Court. Before that, he was a lawyer in private practice.
State Senator Terrence Murphy expressed his condolences in a Facebook post, praising Reitz for his drug court program and calling him “the best public servant.”
Odell echoed the comments of the state senator and said in a statement that Reitz was an “open advocate of recovery from addiction and for a second chance.”
“That’s why he pioneered his beloved Drug Treatment Court,” he said, adding that “the program was instrumental in saving countless lives and families in Putnam County.”
Funeral arrangements have been scheduled for Judge James Reitz for Monday, June 17 at the Putnam County Bureau of Emergency Services.A mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 18 at the St. James the Apostle Church.
