On Wednesday, June 7, 2023, AABANY’s Judiciary Committee hosted its annual Judges’ Reception to honor newly inducted, elevated, and retiring judges, in celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Despite the poor air quality, the event had an impressive turnout, with nearly 80 in attendance, including lawyers, judges, and retired judges, as well as AABANY Board Members and Committee Chairs. The event was held at the Surrogate’s Courthouse, 31 Chambers Street, in downtown Manhattan.
The honorees recognized at the event were individuals who represent the significant strides that AAPI judges have made during the past year in the ongoing effort to enhance diversity in the judiciary. The following judges were honored:
- Hon. Jung Park, New York City Criminal Court
- Hon. Anar Patel, New York State Court of Claims
- Hon. Hari Singh, New York City Family Court, Bronx County
- Hon. Karen Lin, New York City Civil Court, Queens County
- Hon. Kris Singh, Surrogate Court, Montgomery County
- Hon. Leigh Cheng, New York City Civil Court, Queens County
- Hon. Nisha Menon, New York City Family Court, Kings County
- Hon. Sarika Kapoor, New York State Court of Claims
- Hon. Rina Gurung, New York City Housing Court, Bronx County
- Hon. Vijay Kitson, New York City Housing Court, New York County
- Hon. Jessica Sin, New York City Family Court, Queens County
- Hon. Shantonu Basu, New York City Housing Court, Kings County
- Hon. L. Austin D’Souza, New York City Civil Court, Kings County
- Hon. Zainab Chaudhury, New York Court of Claims
- Hon. Arun Subramanian, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
We are proud to celebrate these AAPI trailblazers in the judiciary. AAPI jurists remain significantly under-represented in New York courts. To date, there is no AAPI Justice serving on the United States Supreme Court. There is also no AAPI judge on New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. New York remains in 2023 as one of 42 states in the country without an AAPI judge on the state’s highest court. According to the Asian American Judges Association of New York (AAJANY), AAPI judges comprise nearly 4.60% of the total judiciary in New York State, compared to 10.8% of the population of New York State and 17.3% of the population of New York City being of AAPI descent. Hon. Shahabuddeen Ally, Supervising Judge of New York County Civil Court, and President of AAJANY, emphasized: “[T]he numbers tell us there is a lot of work to do. When the numbers go up, we all do better.” In light of current events and the rise in anti-Asian violence, AAPI representation on the bench is more important than ever. AABANY thanks the honorees for their pioneering and inspirational role.
Thanks to everyone who joined us for this event and the Judiciary Committee for organizing it. To learn more about AABANY’s Judiciary Committee and its work, click here. To see more photos, go here.