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Mayor de Blasio Appoints 16 Members to The Mayor's Advisory Committee on The Judiciary

July 25, 2014

NEW YORK—Mayor de Blasio today appointed 16 individuals to serve on the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. The Committee recruits, screens and recommends to the Mayor highly qualified, diverse and experienced candidates for judicial appointments to the New York City Criminal and Family Courts, as well as interim appointments to the elected Civil Court in the event of vacancies. The new members will work under the direction of Committee Chair Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick and Vice Chair Barry Cozier. Ciparick and Cozier were appointed to the Committee by Mayor de Blasio on July 17. 

“Each member of this diverse group of attorneys and legal experts brings a remarkable depth of legal experience and an unwavering commitment to justice,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I am thankful for their willingness to lend their guidance and expertise to my administration’s efforts to find and appoint the best possible candidates to preside over the City’s Criminal, Family and Civil Courts.”

“Every day, the fates of thousands of New Yorkers are in the hands of Criminal, Family and Civil Court judges,” said Chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick. “I look forward to working with these 16 remarkable attorneys to ensure that those before our Courts receive a fair-minded and impartial administration of justice.”

Newly appointed members of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary are:

  • Stacy Caplow, director of Brooklyn Law School’s Clinical Education Program, teaches criminal and immigration law and co-directs the Safe Harbor Project.
  • Christopher DiLorenzo practices family and personal injury law for his own firm, DiLorenzo & Rush, which he founded after working for the Legal Aid Society.
  • Richard Gutierrez is a trial attorney in State and Federal Court of the State of New York, where he manages all phases of criminal, personal injury, medical malpractice and civil rights cases.
  • Craig Kaplan became counsel to Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, P.C. in 2006, where he specializes in the area of wills, trusts and estates.
  • Judge Judy Kluger is executive director at Sanctuary for Families and served as Chief Policy and Planning for New York State’s Unified Court System years from 2009 to 2014.
  • Chanwoo Lee practices criminal and family law for her own firm and is being reappointed by the Mayor today. Lee has served on the Committee since 2002, after years working at the Legal Aid Society.
  • Thomas Principe is a partner at Kramer, Diloff, Livingston & Moore and has an extensive background in criminal defense.
  • Marvin Ray Raskin has served on the Committee since 2007 while practicing at his own law firm, and has been a pre-eminent member of the Bronx County Bar Association for more than 35 years.
  • Crystal L. Screen is a solo practitioner in the Law Office of Crystal L. Screen, who specializes in family law and has served on the Committee since 2009.
  • Lisa Tsang works in private practice and has a J.D. from Boston University.
  • Judge Betty Weinberg Ellerin is senior counsel at Alston & Bird and was the first woman appointed as both the Deputy Chief Administrate Judge of the State of New York for the New York City Courts and Associate Justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
  • Derrick Cephas is a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and has deep expertise in banking law, with past positions as CEO and President of Amalgamated Bank and former state banking superintendent.
  • Dennis Parker currently serves as director of the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program.
  • Sharon Stapel is the executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, the country’s largest organization dedicated to eliminating violence affecting the LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities.
  • Earl Ward is a partner at Emery Celli Brinkerhoff & Abady and is a career defense attorney and public defender who has worked for the Legal Aid Society, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, NYCLU and has served on the Civilian Complaints Review Board.
  • Milton L. Williams, Jr. is a partner Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard and has vast experience in civil rights, commercial and financial law.

The Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, Jonathan Lippman nominated four members; the Presiding Justice of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division First Department, Luis A. Gonzalez nominated two members; the Presiding Justice of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division Second Judicial Department Randall Eng nominated two members; and Dean of Brooklyn Law School, Nicholas Allard and Anthony W. Crowell, Dean of New York Law School each nominated one member.

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