Three lawyers vie to become Northampton County judge
Democratic, Republican nominations at stake in May 20 primary
Three candidates want to become Northampton County judge, filling a court vacancy that will occur in January when Judge Anthony Beltrami retires after serving 20 years.
Three lawyers, Democrats Jeremy Clark and Robert Eyer and Republican James Fuller, are running for the position in the May 20 primary.
Because it is a judicial contest, candidates can appear on both the Democratic and Republican ballots. Clark and Eyer will appear on the Democratic ballot while the pair will join Fuller on the Republican ballot.
In campaign materials, Eyer has pointed out that he is “the only lifelong Democrat in the race,” an apparent reference to Clark who earlier was registered as an independent. Clark changed his registration to Democrat in 2020 after being hired as an assistant city solicitor for Easton.
Asked about the change, Clark said in an email that being an independent “reflected both my frustration with the discourse in national politics and my role as Northampton County’s Divorce Master — a position that demanded impartiality and neutrality.”
He became a Democrat because “the party’s values align with my own, and I’ve seen firsthand that our local Democratic leaders are the ones doing the work — serving the community, solving problems, and improving lives here in the Lehigh Valley.”
Jeremy Clark
Clark, 46, of Easton, grew up in central Pennsylvania and graduated from high school in 1997. He enlisted in the Army, received an ROTC scholarship and enrolled at the University of Delaware, graduating in 2001. He served in the Army for four years after that with the 82nd Airborne Division, making three tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, achieving the rank of captain.
He lived in Bethlehem while he commuted to Villanova Law School, graduating in 2009. He and his wife,Liz, later moved to her hometown of Easton. “I like to say I married into the Lehigh Valley,” he said in January when he announced his candidacy.
While in law school, Clark was a summer intern for state Superior Court Judge Jack Panella, a former Northampton County judge, and after graduating was a law clerk for Judge Beltrami.
At his candidate announcement, Clark recalled the first time 15 years earlier that he walked into the building to interview for the law clerk position with Beltrami. “At that time, I never imagined that one day I would stand here, running to fill his seat on the bench,” he said.
After completing his one-year law clerk appointment, he worked at a Bethlehem law firm, Harry Newman Associates, for nine years. In 2013, he started his solo practice in Easton. During that time, Clark served as a special divorce master for nearly nine years and, since 2020, has been assistant city solicitor for Easton.
Asked how he views the judge’s role, Clark said, “A judge’s primary duty is to apply the law faithfully — without bias, without an agenda, and without fear or favor. That means following statutes, respecting precedent, and treating everyone who comes into court with fairness and dignity. The role also involves managing a courtroom efficiently, ensuring every litigant has a full and equal opportunity to be heard, and rendering decisions that are thoughtful, timely, and grounded in both law and common sense. Above all, a judge must earn and maintain the public’s trust.”
Clark said his experience qualifies him to serve as a judge.
“I bring a combination of courtroom experience, legal range, and proven judicial temperament,” he said in an email. “I’ve handled criminal jury trials, custody trials, civil non-jury trials, zoning matters, and even federal litigation. All of this while managing my own law practice since 2013. But what truly sets me apart is my nearly 10 years as Northampton County’s Divorce Master, where I presided over formal hearings, supervised the submission of evidence and testimony, and issued rulings on objections — essentially, bench trials. That role required me to manage often emotional proceedings with fairness, patience, and professionalism. It was during this time I earned the trust of lawyers and litigants alike, and I’m prepared to serve with integrity and respect for the law from Day 1.”
Robert Eyer
Eyer, 58, of Allen Township, grew up in Cedar Grove in northern New Jersey. In 1989, he graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington with a bachelor’s degree in political science and criminal justice. He received his law degree from the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle in 1992. After graduating, he came to Northampton County to work for two years as a law clerk for Judge James C. Hogan.
Eyer had a variety of legal experiences over the next 31 years: at law firms and private practice; assistant district attorney; the county court docket manager for the multitude of lawsuits filed by workers, many from Bethlehem Steel, who were injured and died from asbestos exposure; special assistant U.S. attorney; chief public defender in Northampton County and a deputy public defender in Lehigh County; law clerk to Superior Court Judge Robert Freedberg, a former Northampton County judge. Eyer has prosecuted homicide cases and represented people charged with homicide. In 2020, he was president of the Northampton County Bar Association. Last year, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta appointed Eyer as his first assistant.
In response to an email asking Eyer to describe the role of a judge, he said it is “ to correctly and fairly decide legal disputes brought before the court. Deciding correctly means deciding according to the law. Deciding fairly means deciding only after full consideration of all sides of a dispute. Deciding correctly and fairly requires hard work, knowledge of the law, and a deep understanding of the fact that what the court decides every day impacts real people who deserve compassion, empathy, fairness, and a correct result under the law.”
Eyer cited his more than 30 years of experience in Northampton County courtrooms as preparing him “to meet the responsibilities of a judge. A judge is responsible for getting it right by correctly applying the law equally for all and for ensuring fair and impartial justice. My long and diverse experience will allow me to meet that responsibility. My experience has been from all angles, which gives me the unique ability to see both sides of a dispute and to be fair.”
James T. Fuller
Fuller, 41, lives in Northampton. He has coached youth soccer, baseball and basketball. He grew up in Forks Township, graduated from Easton Area High School in 2002 and Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2006. After college, he worked four years at KidsPeace, based in Orefield, monitoring juvenile offenders. He then attended Cooley Law School in Michigan, graduating in 2013.
Fuller worked as an assistant public defender in Monroe County, for seven years and for the last two years has been an assistant district attorney in the county.
Asked how he views the role of a judge, Fuller said in an email that a judge must be “the calmest person in the room. Emotions always run high. I’ve said before, if you are in front of a judge chances are you are not having a good day. The judge needs to understand this. Parties in front of a judge are facing incarceration, losing custody of their children, or maybe they were injured and are seeking restitution. The judge has to listen to everything that is said and make a difficult decision. Sometimes both parties may have very compelling reasons for what they are asking for, but the judge must stick to the law when sometimes it may not seem like the right answer.”
Fuller said his two roles as a public defender and a prosecutor qualify him “to be the next judge in Northampton County. In short, I have defended and prosecuted everything from DUI to homicide. I have tried numerous jury trials as the defense attorney and as a prosecutor. I have also defended and prosecuted PFA [protection from abuse] violations as well as represented parents in children and youth hearings. I also believe that working outside of Northampton County makes me the ideal candidate. I am a clean slate and the definition of unbiased. I would be coming to the bench with no preconceived notions of any party or agency. I would be making my judgments of the person testifying, as they were testifying, which is what I think people want in a judge.”