ONEIDA – An Oneida resident has announced her candidacy for Supreme Court Justice of the 6th Judicial District.

Melissa Stearns, who has been Principal Law Clerk to Acting Supreme Court Justice Donald F. Cerio, Jr. for the last 10 years, announced her candidacy last week.

"My career as an attorney has been devoted to public service," said Stearns in a statement. "Whether in the District Attorney's Office or as Judge Cerio's law clerk, I have strived to bring fairness and justice to all matters before me never forgetting that these are people's lives, not just cases."