Local legal community backs Judge Thompson’s bid for Surrogate’s Court

July 10, 2018 By Rob Abruzzese, Legal Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Hon. Harriet Thompson, an acting Supreme Court judge in Kings County is running to be Brooklyn's next Surrogate's Court judge. Members of the local legal community and the Kings County Democratic Party executive committee have backed her in the Sept. 13 primary. Eagle photos by Mario Belluomo

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Members of the local legal community, including many members of the Bay Ridge Lawyers Association, recently held a benefit to raise money for Hon. Harriet Thompson, who is running to become the next Surrogate’s Court judge in Brooklyn this September.

On Thursday, June 28, Joseph Vasile, incoming president of the Bay Ridge Lawyers, Stephen Spinelli, Dominic Famulari and Bruno Codispoti held a fundraiser at the Salty Dog on Third Avenue in Bay Ridge for the acting Supreme Court judge.

“Judge Thompson has good instincts, fine judicial temperament as well as compassion and empathy for the people appearing before her,” said Famulari, who is the president of the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Kings County. “The judge practiced law and ran her own law office for over a decade prior to ascending to the bench so she has a strong appreciation of the demands on the lawyers appearing before her.”

A judge in the Surrogate’s Court handles all probate and estate proceedings. They also adjudicate the probate of all wills and administration of estates of people who die without a will. In addition, Surrogate’s Court judges are in charge of various departments within the court including a law department and are in charge of scores of court clerks.

Each county in New York has one surrogate except for Brooklyn and Manhattan, two of the biggest jurisdictions in the state, which have two each. Hon. Margarita Lopez Torres is the other Surrogate’s Court judge in Kings County with Hon. John Ingram serving as acting Surrogate’s Court judge until the election.

“Judge Thompson is well liked in the legal community because she has the right temperament, knowledge, ethics and integrity to be a surrogate,” said Codispoti, a past president of the Columbian Lawyers Association of Brooklyn. “In addition, her experience and ability to communicate clearly and listen intently makes her very qualified for the position. On a personal level, she is sincere, positive, humble and compassionate.”