Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani today announced the full slate of members appointed to the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary (MACJ), which evaluates candidates for judicial appointments and recommends qualified candidates to the Mayor. The newly revitalized committee will work to make the judicial selection process more transparent, more accessible and truly reflective of New York City.
In January, Mayor Mamdani signed an executive order directing the Committee to engage the full breadth of the legal community in the judicial selection process, including public defenders, attorneys who represent parents and children in Family Court and those working in indigent legal services. The executive order also directs the Committee to regularly publish demographic data about the judicial applicant pool and create a searchable public database through which New Yorkers can monitor upcoming appointments, ensuring transparency in the process.
"I am proud to announce our full slate of appointments to the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary," said Mayor Mamdani. "The Committee will help ensure that our judicial system reflects the city it serves, applies the rule of law universally and does so without favor. These members bring a diverse range of legal expertise, and I am confident they will carry out this important responsibility with fairness, independence and integrity."
"The members announced today offer a truly representative cross-section of the legal profession in New York City, bringing a wide range of professional experience from all five boroughs to the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary," said Ramzi Kassem, Chief Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall, who supervises the activities of the Committee. "Under Mayor Mamdani's leadership, MACJ will reach across the legal community to build a broad and highly qualified pool of judicial applicants. An independent and impartial judiciary composed of jurists who have served their fellow New Yorkers in a range of legal circumstances is essential to a healthy democracy, and these appointments reflect our administration's commitment to a fair, inclusive and transparent judicial selection process."
"I am honored to Chair this group of leading legal practitioners and scholars," said Ali Najmi, Chair of the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, appointed by Mayor Mamdani in January. "The Mayor has made transparency in judicial selection a priority and today's appointments are just the beginning of that work. I look forward to leading this talented committee and helping to deliver a more just city."
"The formation of the full committee marks an important step toward ensuring that judicial vacancies are filled through a fair, rigorous and accessible process," said Rowan D. Wilson, Chief Judge of the State of New York and the New York Court of Appeals. "I look forward to continued collaboration to support a judiciary that serves all New Yorkers with integrity."
"These appointments reflect the breadth of talent, experience and commitment to justice that New Yorkers deserve. The nominees bring diverse perspectives and deep expertise from across the legal profession - from public defense, including former Legal Aid attorneys, and civil rights advocacy to academia, private practice and public service," said Twyla Carter, Attorney-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer of The Legal Aid Society. "A judicial selection process that draws on this range of experience strengthens both our courts and the public's confidence in them. I commend the Mayor, the Chief Judge, the Presiding Justices and all those involved in these appointments for their commitment to this important process."
"A well-staffed judiciary is critical to the fairness and effectiveness of our criminal justice system, and I look forward to the appointment of additional qualified judges," said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The Committee's duties include evaluating and appointing judges to the City's Family and Criminal Courts, as well as interim judges to its Civil Courts. The Committee reviews judges to evaluate temperament, fairness and judgment before making recommendations to the Mayor. The Committee includes members that have been reappointed, and nominees from local law schools and judges.
The Committee expects to issue its first set of recommendations to the Mayor by the beginning of October, with a public hearing to follow that month.
About Members of the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary:
Dianisbeth Acquie is a native Brooklynite. She began her legal career as a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and previously clerked for Chief Judge Margo K. Brodie in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She currently serves as the Assistant Dean of the Office of Judicial Careers at Columbia Law School and as Vice President of the High School Division for the Sonia & Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program. She graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in English and earned her Juris Doctor cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was a student attorney and Vice President of Membership for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. (Mayoral nominee)
Jill Soffiyah Elijah is the founder and former Executive Director of the Alliance of Families for Justice ("AFJ"). Prior to founding AFJ, Ms. Elijah was the Executive Director of the Correctional Association of NY. Prior to leading the Correctional Association, Ms. Elijah served as Deputy Director and Clinical Instructor at the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School. Before moving to Harvard, she was the Director and Supervising Attorney of the Defender Clinic at the City University of New York School of Law. Earlier in her career, Ms. Elijah also worked as a Supervising Attorney at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, a Staff Attorney at the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society and in private practice. Throughout her career she has trained thousands of lawyers and continues to do so as a consultant. An accomplished advocate, attorney, scholar and educator, Ms. Elijah has practiced criminal and family law for more than 40 years. (Mayoral nominee)
Julia Hernandez is an Associate Professor of Law at the CUNY School of Law where she co-founded and co-directs the Family Defense Practicum and Clinic. Together with her students, Julia challenges government surveillance and the separation of families of color and advocates for policies that support family well-being. Before joining CUNY's faculty, Julia was an attorney with Brooklyn Defender Services' Family Defense Practice and Catholic Migration Services. Julia graduated from CUNY School of Law and received her BA in Anthropology and Latin American Studies from SUNY New Paltz. (Mayoral nominee)
Everett Hopkins is the managing attorney of Hopkins Law Group, LLC. He received his undergraduate degree from the City University of New York at Hunter College and earned his law degree at the University of Buffalo. During his career, he served with distinction for eight years as general counsel and director of administration for the New York City Criminal Justice Agency. Prior to this position, he held key positions with the New York City Housing Preservation and Development and Fraud Enforcement with the Internal Revenue Service. Over the last 20 years, he has been an adjunct professor at several New York City area colleges. (Mayoral nominee)
Martin LaFalce serves as Associate Professor of Clinical Law at St. John's University School of Law. Prior, he spent 14 years as a public defender at the Legal Aid Society, 10 years as a trial attorney in Manhattan and a policy attorney in Legal Aid's Criminal Defense Practice. He began his career representing clients at Rikers Island charged with violating the conditions of their parole. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and undergraduate degree from Georgetown University. (Mayoral nominee)
Juan Luciano is a divorce lawyer. He began his career in Westchester and Queens working for immigrant families seeking to adjust their status in the United States. In 2013, he joined the assigned counsel panel for the Appellate Division First Department, serving in the Bronx and Manhattan Family Court. He worked with indigent families, adults and children. Since then, Mr. Luciano has dedicated his practice to family law and domestic relations, representing his clients with their best interests and those of their families in mind. He received his JD from the University at Buffalo School of Law. (Mayoral nominee)
Mina Malik is the CEO & Executive Partner of The Cochran Firm - New York and on the teaching faculty at Harvard Law School. She is a distinguished civil rights attorney and trial lawyer, former prosecutor and thought leader with over 25 years' experience in criminal and civil litigation. Mina has served and held leadership positions in the Queens and Brooklyn District Attorney's Offices, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia and the D.C. Public Defender Service. Throughout her career, she has been at the forefront of advancing justice, strengthening public trust in government and protecting the constitutional rights of individuals through principled leadership, public service and advocacy. Mina received her JD from The American University Washington College of Law and her BA from Bates College. (Mayoral nominee)
Sherbune Paul is an attorney with 10 years of experience and serves as a Senior Associate at Russo & Gould LLP. Her previous roles include serving as a Managing Attorney at Bailey Law Firm LLP, Associate in the Transportation Practice Group at Windels Marx and Supervising Attorney at the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission. Sherbune holds a JD from New York Law School and earned her BA in Sociology from Stony Brook University. (Mayoral nominee)
Amber Baylor is the founding director of the Criminal Defense Clinic and Clinical Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. She was previously the founder and director of the Criminal Defense Clinic at Texas A&M School of Law. Prior to teaching, Baylor was a staff attorney with Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and a trial attorney for Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. She received her LL.M from Georgetown University Law Center, holds a JD from New York University School of Law and earned her BA from Columbia University. (Chief Judge nominee)
Judge Kristen Booth Glen brings a wealth of relevant experience as a judge, a legal educator, a practicing lawyer and an advocate for diversity in the profession and the court system. Judge Glen was elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York in 1980; during her term she also sat in Criminal Court, and as a Sitting Supreme Court Justice in both Civil and Criminal terms. In 1986 she was elected to Supreme Court where she sat in the Matrimonial and Malpractice Parts and chaired the Committee on Diversity. In 1992 she was appointed to the Appellate Term, hearing appeals from the Criminal and Civil Courts. She left the bench in 1995 to become the third Dean of CUNY School of Law, and after a decade of service there, was elected Surrogate, New York County where she significantly increased the diversity of that Court's staff. Judge Glen is an Honors graduate of Stanford University and Columbia Law School. (Chief Judge nominee)
A. Camila Popin is the principal attorney at Popin Law, P.C. After law school, she worked for a firm where she concentrated in the areas of Divorce and Family Law. In 2004, she opened her own law practice in Queens County concentrating in Family Law and Divorces and representing clients throughout the City of New York, Long Island and Westchester. She received her law degree from Brooklyn Law School and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from St. Francis College. (Chief Judge nominee)
Judge Milton Tingling was the first African-American County Clerk of New York County. He clerked for Harlem-based judges Justice Milton H. Richardson, Justice Wilford O'Connor and Justice Dennis Edwards, Jr, and ran a solo practice on West 125th Street. In 1986, he became the first Black person to ever be elected to a judgeship from the 7th Municipal Court District. He serves on numerous boards and community organizations, including the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce. He is the founder of The Initiative, a volunteer project that educates, facilitates and assists formerly incarcerated individuals in obtaining Certificates of Relief and Certificates of Good Conduct. He received his law degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law and earned a BA from Brown University. (Chief Judge nominee)
Joseph Drayton is a partner at Proskauer Rose LLP and is a first-chair trial lawyer with over two decades of experience representing companies in intellectual property (IP) and complex commercial litigation. He recently received the United States President's Volunteer Service Award by President Joseph R. Biden for his leadership activities in the legal community. Joe also received the C. Francis Stradford Award. He received his JD from University of Pennsylvania Law School and earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. (Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, First Judicial Department nominee)
Danielle Jones is the Assistant Managing Attorney at Proskauer Rose LLP and Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School. Previously, she was Deputy Managing Attorney of the Criminal Defense Practice of Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem ("NDS"). Danielle worked in the New York State Court System as a Principal Court Attorney in Kings County Supreme Court, Criminal Term and as an Assistant Law Clerk in New York County Supreme Court-Civil Term. She began her legal career as a Staff Attorney in the Criminal Defense Practice of The Legal Aid Society and has appeared as a legal commentator on the Law & Crime Network. She received her JD from Howard University School of Law and earned her BA in Communication from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. (Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, First Judicial Department nominee)
Judge William Mastro was elected to the New York State Supreme Court in November 1992. He was appointed to the Appellate Division, Second Department, in June of 2002 and served as a justice of that court until December 2021. During his tenure with the court, Mastro twice served periods as acting presiding justice. In May 2013, Mastro had the honor of being selected to hear and determine a case as a member of the New York State Court of Appeals. He presently serves as a member of the Governor's Appellate Division Second Department Screening Committee. He graduated from Villanova University and New York Law School. (Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department nominee)
Thomas Principe has been a partner at Kramer, Dillof, Livingston & Moore in Manhattan, representing injured parties in the specialty of personal injury and medical malpractice for 37 years. He is a former prosecutor with the Queens County District Attorney's Office, rising to the rank of deputy bureau chief of the Supreme Court Trial Bureau. Principe served in the New York Army National Guard for 33 years, retiring as a brigadier general. He was one of the first wave of First Responders from the New York Army National Guard on 9/11/2001. Among other military medals received during his career, he was awarded the Legion of Merit by the US Army and the Meritorious Service Medal by the State of New York. He is a graduate of St. John's University and St. John's University School of Law and is a Past President of the Alumni Association of St. John's University School of Law. (Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department nominee)
Dennis Fan is the Founder and Director of Columbia Law School's Appellate Litigation Clinic. He previously served as a senior assistant solicitor general in the New York Attorney General's Office, where he handled major business fraud and consumer protection appeals, and before that worked in the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division on high-profile cases involving national security, presidential powers and federal administrative law. At the start of the Biden Administration, he served as counsel to the assistant attorney general, helping coordinate regulatory reforms to DACA and implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. A 2015 Columbia Law graduate, Fan clerked for Judge Denny Chin and Judge James E. Boasberg, served as editor-in-chief of the Columbia Law Review and received multiple academic and clinical honors. Dennis received his JD from Columbia Law School and earned his BA from Swarthmore College. (Law school nominee)
Jared M. Trujillo is an Associate Professor of Law at CUNY School of Law, where he teaches Constitutional Law, Legislative Drafting, Critical Race Theory and courses focused on the criminal legal system. Before joining the faculty, he served as Senior Policy Counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union. He previously served as President of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, UAW Local 2325 and worked as a juvenile defense and criminal defense attorney at The Legal Aid Society in New York City. Jared is a co-chair of the LGBTQ+ Rights Committee of the New York City Bar Association, a co-chair of the American Constitution Society New York Lawyer Chapter and Law and Policy Counsel at Equality New York. (Law school nominee)
