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New co-chairs named to Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission

February 21, 2018 By Rob Abruzzese, Legal Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Judges Hon. Troy Webber (pictured) and Hon. Shirley Troutman were named as co-chairs of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission this week by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore. Eagle file photo
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A pair of judges, Hon. Shirley Troutman and Troy K. Webber, have been named the new co-chairs of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore announced on Wednesday.

The commission works to promote equal participation and equal justice for minorities in the court system. Hon. Richard B. Lowe, the former presiding justice of the Appellate Term, First Department, will step down as chair after having served since December 2015.

“We are fortunate to have two such distinguished jurists to serve as the new co-chairs of the Franklin H. Williams Commission,” DiFiore said in a statement. “I have every confidence that they will provide outstanding direction and leadership in advancing the commission’s work and mission, which are so critical to the well-being of our justice system.”

Troutman sits in the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. She has sat on the bench since she was elected to the Buffalo City Court in 1994 and served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York and as an assistant district attorney in Erie County prior to becoming a judge.

Webber sits in the Appellate Division, First Department. Her judicial career started in 1994 when she became a New York City Civil Court Judge. In 2000, she was promoted to acting Supreme Court justice, and was elected to the 12th Judicial District in 2002. Prior to joining the bench, she was a deputy bureau chief with the NYC Law Department, a Manhattan assistant district attorney, a senior associate at a private law firm, and a law clerk to Justice William Davis.

The Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission was created in 1991 in an effort to educate the judicial system on issues affecting court employees and litigants of color. It serves to recommend changes to the court system and is responsible for overseeing those recommendations.

DiFiore made a point to thank Lowe, who is retiring after 50 years as a public servant, for his work with the commission.

“I am thankful to Justice Lowe for his dynamic leadership of the commission, which continued to thrive during his tenure as chair, maintaining its standing as a model for court systems around the country,” DiFiore said.

 

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