Release #484-00

 

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Sunny Mindel / Michael Anton (212) 788-2958

MAYOR GIULIANI REAPPOINTS SEVEN CIVIL COURT JUDGES

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today reappointed seven judges to the Civil Court: Judge Richard N. Allman, Judge Ellen M. Coin, Judge Jerome Kay, Judge Susan Knipps, Judge Jeffrey Lebowitz, Judge Judith Lieb, and Judge Robert M. Stolz.

"The continuing excellence of New York City's judicial system is dependent upon judges who uphold the highest standard of integrity and professionalism," Mayor Giuliani said. "Throughout their careers, the seven men and women whom I am appointing today have demonstrated that level of integrity and professionalism. With several decades of combined public service between them, I am confident these judges will dispense justice fairly and will prove themselves deserving of the trust the public has vested in them."

The seven judges are:

Judge Richard N. Allman received his bachelors degree from Franklin and Marshall College and his juris doctorate from Pace University School of Law where he was editor-in-chief of the law review. He began his legal career in 1985 at the Legal Aid Society in the Criminal Appeals Bureau in New York County. In 1990, he became Law Secretary to New York State Court of Claims Judge Phyllis Skloot Bamberger. During this time he developed and taught a program at the Office of Court Administration's Education and Training Division entitled "Nightmare on Court Street." Judge Allman was first appointed to the Civil Court in 1999. Despite only serving for a short period on the bench, several of Judge Allman's opinions have already been published. Judge Allman has authored several articles, including "Comment on the Supreme Court Case of Jones V. Barnes," "Some Special Concerns in the Trial of Child Sexual Abuse Cases," and a review of the law of robbery in New York for New York Criminal Practice.

Judge Ellen M. Coin received her bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and graduated from New York University's School of Law in 1972. After graduation, Judge Coin became an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County before joining the Department of Justice in 1977 as a Special Attorney assigned to the Organized Crime Strike Force in the Eastern District. At the Department of Justice she investigated organized crime and labor racketeering and later, she defended and prosecuted appeals. From 1980 to 1998, she practiced law at the law firm of Shapiro and Schwartz, which later became Graubard Mollen Miller, where she became a partner. In 1998, Judge Coin was appointed a Civil Court Judge. Currently she is assigned to the Criminal Court in New York County. She is an active member of the National Association of Women Judges and the New York County Lawyers Association. In 1995, she authored a chapter on collections in the text Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts.

Jerome Kay is a graduate of New York University and received his juris doctorate from Columbia Law School in 1955. Upon graduation, Judge Kay served as assistant to the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein, who at that time was the reporter of the Advisory Committee on Practice and Procedure of the New York State Temporary Commission on the Courts. In 1961, after three years in private practice, Judge Kay returned to the public sector serving here at City Hall until 1964 as counsel to Paul R. Screvane, the President of the New York City Council. Judge Kay then re-entered the private sector in 1965 serving as an Associate Counsel to three New York firms. While practicing in the private sector he served as Assistant to the Speaker of the New York State Assembly and Assistant to the Counsel to the Assembly Committee On Education. Judge Kay also served as a Commissioner, for the New York City Commission on Human Rights, acting also as the Chairman for the Enforcement Committee and as the Lead Hearing Officer. In 1974, he was appointed Criminal Court Judge in Kings County. Judge Kay has remained in Brooklyn, serving for over 25 years as a Civil Court Judge, Deputy Supervising Judge, Acting Supreme Court Justice, and as Judge-in-Charge. Some of his other credits include being appointed a federal trustee in bankruptcy and authoring the article "Procedures for Obtaining Information Before Trial," published in the Texas Law Review.

Judge Susan Knipps spent most of her legal career working in the courtroom. Judge Knipps came to the bench with a thorough knowledge of a judges' duties. Her most recent position before being appointed to the bench was as Deputy Counsel to Chief Justice of the State of New York, Judith S. Kaye. Upon graduation from Yale Law School in 1981, Judge Knipps served as law clerk for the Hon. Charles E. Stewart, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for New York's Southern District until 1983. From 1983 until 1987, Judge Knipps worked in private practice before joining the Legal Aid Society's Juvenile Rights Division where she remained for the next 5 years, first as Staff Attorney, and then as Director of Training. Judge Knipps returned to the judiciary in 1992 as the Principal Court Attorney for Family Court Administrator, Kathryn McDonald, and in 1995, for Michael Gage, the Family Court Administrative Judge. During this time Judge Knipps also lectured on ethical issues in the representation of children at Fordham Law School. Judge Knipps has published articles in Fordham's Urban Law Journal and the New York State Unified Court System on topics such as: domestic violence, juvenile crime, and jury reform. Judge Knipps has served on many city and state advisory boards and commissions dealing with children and families in the legal system. She shares her specialized legal experience with her community as a volunteer mentor at Martin Luther King Jr. High School Justice Resource Center. She is active with the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, serving on numerous committees and subcommittees.

Judge Jeffrey Lebowitz received his bachelors degree in 1973 from the State University of New York at Binghamton. And in 1976 he received his juris doctorate from Hofstra University School of Law. Beginning in 1977 and continuing until his judicial appointment in 1993, Judge Lebowitz was the Law Secretary to Queens County Supreme Court Justice Philip J. Chetta. During that time Judge Lebowitz also taught legal writing at the Long Island School of Paralegal Studies and was an arbitrator for the Queens County Small Claims Court. Judge Lebowitz received his first judicial appointment in 1993. Since his appointment, Judge Lebowitz has served the communities of the Bronx and Queens in his capacity as both a Civil and Criminal Court Judge. Judge Lebowitz has authored two articles published in the Queens County Bar Association Bar Bulletin: "Sanctions for Non-Appearance In Criminal Actions," in 1989; and "Victim's Right to Speak at Sentencing," in 1992.

Judge Judith Lieb is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, after earning her bachelors degree cum laude from Yale University. After law school, Judge Lieb was law clerk to the Honorable Judge Betty B. Fletcher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Following her clerkship, Judge Lieb spent over three years in private practice as an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison before finding her calling in public service. From 1991 until 1999, Judge Lieb worked for the Justice Department as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York in the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. Judge Lieb was first appointed to the judiciary in 1999 and has served as a Civil Court Judge of the City of New York assigned to the Bronx County Criminal Court. Judge Lieb authored a book review in the Michigan Law Review, reviewing Louis D. Brandies' Justice for the People. She was also a ghostwriter for Conflicts with Former Clients, by Max Gitter and several of her opinions have been published.

Judge Robert M. Stolz brings to the bench a balanced combination of 20 years experience in private practice and public interest law coupled with 5 years in the judiciary. Judge Stolz graduated from Columbia College and received his law degree from Fordham Law School in 1976. Upon graduation he spent four years as an associate at the law firm of Curtis, Mallet-Provost, Colt and Mosle. In 1980 he became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Eastern District of New York and was appointed Chief of the Frauds Section in 1986. Judge Stolz returned to private practice in 1987 as a partner in the law firm of Rosenblatt, Mass, Wirfel & Stolz and remained there until 1990 when he rejoined the U.S. Attorney's Office. In 1995 Judge Stolz was appointed a Civil Court Judge, assigned to New York County Criminal Court and has continued to sit on that bench. Judge Stolz is a member of several organizations, including the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the New York Professional State Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Council.

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