Dear Colleagues:

I am deeply honored to have been elected as your President this year and fortunate to have had the opportunity to take my oath of office surrounded by my beautiful family and colleagues and  administered by my friend, the Hon. Anne Minihan, Administrative Judge of the 9^th Judicial District.  It was a most memorable event, with the backdrop of Niagara Falls, New York – one of the seven wonders of the world – with the most natural rainbows I have ever experienced – rainbows of justice, of course!

Our judicial training conference did not disappoint, as it was filled with not only our Core trainings headed by Michelle Conley, Esq., from the Office of Justice Court Support and her excellent staff, but a wide variety of elective trainings, thanks to NYSMA’s judicial training and education committee, presented by judges, attorneys, and stakeholders, as well as opportunities to network with our colleagues.

We are most grateful to Judge James Murphy, our Deputy Chief Administrative Judge, Courts Outside New York City, for his insight and support for our town and village courts and look forward to working together in furthering important initiatives for our courts.

I can’t help but be filled with optimism and the possibilities of what we can do together to bring fair and impartial justice – with compassion.  As judges in the courts closest to the people, we have the responsibility to recognize the opportunities we have every day to solve problems and change lives for the better. We do this utilizing the common thread among us – community service – serving our communities in the best way possible, together, while serving as an example and providing encouragement for civic engagement – especially for our youth – our future legal leaders.

FAIR & IMPARTIAL JUSTICE

What does it mean to be fair and impartial?  Being fair and impartial means being unbiased, being able to set aside personal preferences, prejudices, or emotions to ensure a neutral and objective response. Being fair and impartial is the foundation of justice in our courts.  I encourage you to remind yourselves of this basic principle every day as we balance the scales of justice in our courts, affecting the lives of those who come before us.

THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPASSION

Thank you to Judge Minihan for delivering a most profound message as our keynote speaker: “The Importance of Compassion in Our Courts,” reprinted in full, with permission, in this issue of The Magistrate, and in part reminding us as follows:

“Compassion is something more than the feeling of empathy which is the ability to understand the experience and feelings of others. Compassion is empathy coupled with the motivation to help….People come to us with problems that they haven’t been able to resolve on their own – and we need compassion when they do.”

As a judge, I have always tried to look at things from different perspectives to try to fully appreciate all that a person before me is going through or experiencing. People who come into our courts, whether it is for a traffic matter, civil matter or criminal matter, are usually apprehensive or dealing with issues in their lives which we may not have imagined. We have the great opportunity and responsibility to not only hold those accountable but to also allow them to help themselves by providing justice with compassion. Thank you Judge Minihan for bringing your message of compassion in our courts to the forefront.

DEMANOR AND ETHICS

As judges, we set the stage in our courtrooms.  Will it be one of gavel banging, irritability and harshness or one of learned, calmness and firmness with understanding tones. Those who come before use look for our lead. An often-unspoken lead is our judicial demeanor and unwavering commitment to judicial ethics.  I have copied a portion of our judicial demeanor training from our 2023 conference for emphasis:

Judicial Demeanor & Best Court Room Practices always start with a review of:

The Rules of the Chief Administrative Judge:

Part 100 Judicial Conduct

Section 100.1 – A judge shall uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary.

Section 100.2 – A judge shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in   all of the judge’s activities.

Section 100.3 – A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially and diligently.

Section 100.4 A judge shall so conduct the judge’s extra-judicial activities as to minimize the risk of conflict with judicial obligations.

Section 100.6 – Application of the rules of judicial conduct.

I look back at two important judicial mentors in my career, the Hon. James D. Benson, Dutchess County Surrogate and AJSC and his successor, Hon. James D. Pagones, both of whom I had the privilege to work with as an intern and attorney in their courts and who inspired me by their example to go to law school to one day serve with the utmost of integrity, ethics, and judicial demeanor.

THE COURTS CLOSEST TO THE PEOPLE

We are the “Courts Closest to the People,” as very often the town and village courts are the first and only experience that people have in our court system. As judges we must be committed to making that experience one in which everyone feels that they were treated fairly. That means, treating each and every person who comes into our court with respect, providing them with a full and fair opportunity to be heard, helping them resolve issues and rendering timely decisions which will help make their lives better.  We have such an important and critical role as leaders in our communities to enable people who come to our courts to leave with the lasting impression of justice being served.

PROBLEM SOLVERS IN OUR COMMUNITIES

As judges in our communities, we should all consider ourselves problem solvers, helping to improve the lives of those we serve. As Chair of our Problem-Solving Courts Committee, I have the great privilege to attend various graduation ceremonies given to recognize those who have been given the special opportunity to partake in programs and change their lives for the better.  From judicial diversion, veterans’ courts, drug courts, combined domestic violence and drug courts, mental health courts and more, these problem solving courts are crucial to those suffering in many different ways to help them find their way to changing their lives for the better.

I will share with you an especially meaningful experience for me as a judge.  One particular day, as I was walking through the grocery store, I heard someone say,

“Excuse me, Judge?”  I turned, to see a young man full of pride say to me “You probably don’t remember me but I was in your court, and I want to thank you for what you did for me. I might not have seemed appreciative at the time, but if you hadn’t done what you did for me, I wouldn’t be here today. Thank you for saving my life, enabling me to turn my life around, I am working, providing for my family and am so thankful.”

At that moment, not only did I recognize this individual, who looked a lot different than when I had first met him in the middle of the night during his arraignment, but it struck me that this is why we serve: these moments when we can not only help improve lives, but save lives.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Now, I turn to the importance of civic engagement. As leaders in our communities, we have the responsibility to help foster civics – especially in our youth. You ask, how can I do this? There are many ways: invite students into your court to observe or intern, invite classes to your court to have their mock trials or serve as a judge in your local bar association, college or law school’s mock trial or moot court.  These are such important and life changing opportunities for our students, our future leaders.  You can just see the sprouting of seedlings before your very eyes!  This type of encouragement from you as judicial leaders is priceless and will instill the importance of fair justice and civility in our communities and beyond. Join me in welcoming students into your courtrooms.

OTHER INITIATIVES

Finally, please let me know if there are any special initiatives or ideas that you may have that I can help further in our courts.  You can reach me at: SmSullivan@nycourts.gov.  I would be happy to help in any way that I can.  I am Your President, here for You and Your Courts!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT –

CHIEF JUDGE, ROWAN WILSON,  KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT

NYSMA 2026 CONFERENCE!!

I am also especially delighted and honored to announce that our Chief Judge of the State of New York, the Hon. Rowan Wilson, will be our keynote speaker at our annual conference next year on September 29, 2026!  We are so excited to share the news and are already making special preparations!   Be sure to mark your calendars now so we can all welcome our Chief Judge, attend judicial trainings, and mingle, putting our best judicial foot forward!

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I am excited to travel across our beautiful New York State to meet with you in your communities, update you on my experiences, and to see you next year for our annual conference.

In the meantime, let’s build some rainbows of justice together!

With much gratitude and respect,

Your President,

Hon. Susan Sullivan-Bisceglia, Esq.