New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the appointment of seven new judges in civil, criminal and family courts on Sept. 20.
Two of the judges will serve in Civil Court, where the mayor has the power to appoint judges to fill interim vacancies. Of the rest, three will serve on Criminal Court and two on Family Court, two benches where the mayor appoints judges within the city.
“Today, we proudly announce the appointment of seven exceptional judges to the bench, each bringing years of expertise and a deep commitment to upholding public safety and justice,” said Adams. “These distinguished individuals are not only highly qualified but also dedicated to ensuring that our legal system serves all New Yorkers with fairness and integrity.”
Judges Lydia Antoncic and Juanita Wing were appointed to Civil Court in August.
Antoncic’s career touched on a variety of civil areas before she joined the bench. She began her career at a firm handling employment and labor law, bankruptcy, foreclosure and property damage out of law school. She went on to serve as the director of projects and executive director of the Animal Welfare Trust. Then Antoncic joined a firm that focused on insurance and liability policies before she established her own practice focused on marital issues. For the past six years, she’s served as a principal court attorney in Manhattan’s Integrated Domestic Violence Court of the Supreme Court.
Wing brings a range of juvenile and family legal system experiences to the role. Shortly after law school, she became a staff attorney at the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). From there she worked as a staff attorney for District Council 37’s Family Law Unit. She established her own practice where she worked on a panel of lawyers assigned to represent New Yorkers who can’t afford a lawyer in Family Court. She continued in Family Court serving for 13 years as a court attorney referee. Wing most recently served as a court attorney referee in Manhattan’s Supreme Court
Adams appointed Nancy Carrington, Kacie Lally and Joseph Sorrentino as Criminal Court judges earlier this month.
Carrington comes from a background as a Staten Island prosecutor and criminal court attorney. She worked as an associate at several law firms before joining the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office as an assistant district attorney in the domestic violence, trials and criminal court bureaus. She then served as deputy bureau chief of the Criminal Court Bureau before leaving to join the state court system, where she worked as a principal court attorney in criminal cases in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
Lally also brings a mix of criminal court and prosecutorial experience. She clerked for U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty in the Southern District of New York, before joining the New York Attorney General as an assistant attorney general and as deputy section chief in the Law Enforcement Group and Litigation Bureau. Later she moved to the court system to work as a court attorney in Manhattan’s Criminal Court and Brooklyn’s Supreme Court.
Sorrentino has served at the Supreme Court of the state of New York Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department for his entire legal career. His roles have ranged from assistant appellate court attorney to senior appellate court attorney, principal law clerk and supervisor of the Motions Department. Before the appointment he was serving as the chief appellate court attorney for the Second Judicial Department’s Appellate Division.
Christine Perumal and Pamela Scheininger were appointed to Family Court.
Perumal started in private practice before establishing her own partnership focusing on matrimonial and family law matters. She has also served with ACS and Safe Horizon’s Domestic Violence Law Project as a supervising attorney and director. More recently she joined the state court system as a support magistrate in New York County Family Court and a court attorney referee in the Queens County Family Court.
Scheininger also brings both private and state court litigation experience to the role. After starting her career in a private firm, she joined The Legal Aid Society, Juvenile Rights Practice as a staff attorney. She’s also worked as a court attorney and court attorney referee in Manhattan’s Family Court.
The Civil and Family Court appointments are for ten-year terms. Once a judge is appointed, he or she can be transferred from one court to another by the Office of Court Administration. The Civil Court judges will serve until the next regularly scheduled election.
