We call upon public officials, the Office of Court Administration, bar associations and judicial screening committees to place a greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion that recognizes and includes the AAPI community across all levels of the New York State Courts. These statistics show that Asian American and Pacific Islanders lack a full voice in the administration of justice in New York State. None of the 12 Administrative Judges in New York City, 10 Administrative Judges outside New York City and 21 Supervising Judges outside of New York City are AAPI jurists.
Of the 63 supervisory or administrative judicial positions in New York State, there are only two AAPI jurists. No AAPI has ever been appointed to the Court of Appeals. No AAPI jurists currently sit on our intermediate appellate courts in the Second, Third, and Fourth Departments. Only two out of the 86 Court of Claims judges are AAPI, and there are no South Asian jurists. There has never been an AAPI judge elected in Brooklyn, Staten Island or the Bronx. 37 of the 39 AAPI judges preside in New York City, and there are only two elected AAPI judges north of New York City. Secretary Johnson also reported that in New York City, AAPI people comprise 14.1% of the population and only 6.3% of the judiciary, and that the AAPI community remains underrepresented among judges chosen by election. Currently, there are only 39 AAPI judges in all of New York State, and that is out of 1,227 jurists. Secretary Jeh Johnson highlighted this fact in his Octoreport on equal justice in the New York State Courts, where he noted that AAPIs comprise 8.5% of New Yorkers and only 2.6% of the judiciary.
While we are proud to celebrate our “firsts,” many of us remain the “only,” and the AAPI community remains underrepresented in the judiciary. Raja Rajeswari became the first South Asian judge appointed in New York in 2015. Anil Singh in 2002, the first elected South Asian judge, and his subsequent appointment to the Appellate Division in 2017. Equally historic was the election of the Hon. Judges Eng and Tom were the first Asian Americans appointed to the Appellate Division and even served simultaneously as Presiding Justice and Acting Presiding Justice in 2016. Dorothy Chin Brandt to the New York County Civil Court in 1987. It continued with the historic elections of the Hon. Randall Eng to the New York City Criminal Court bench in 1983. Our fairly young history in the New York State Judiciary began only 38 years ago with the appointment of the Hon. We also recognized the work that remains for the Courts to be inclusive of the AAPI experience. As Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) jurists in the New York State court system we celebrated AAPI Heritage month in May for the first time in our Courts by participating in panels, co-hosting events, and acknowledging the many jurists that blazed the trail for us.
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