ALBANY – Absent any aggravating factors, tardiness by judges in rendering decisions is a matter for court administrators to remedy, not the Commission on Judicial Conduct, the lawyer for a soon-to-be Supreme Court justice argued yesterday before the Court of Appeals.

Attorney James E. Long of Albany conceded that Judge James P. Gilpatric (See Profile) allowed some matters before his Kingston City Court to go on too long, especially the small claims matter that he took 31 months to decide.