Election brings fresh slate of judges to Brooklyn

Hemalee Patel elected judge in Brooklyn’s only contested race

November 7, 2024 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

Top left to right: Hon. Abayomi Ajaiyeoba Whint (Wayne Daren Schneiderman), Hon. Adam Pearlmutter (Robert Abruzzese), Hon. Alexis Riley (Mario Belluomo), Hon. Hemalee Patel (Abruzzese). Bottom left to right: Hon. Inga O’Neale (Robert Abruzzese), Hon. Jeffrey Sunshine (Abruzzese), Hon. Norma Jennings (Abruzzese), Hon. Tehilah Berman (Abruzzese).

Share this:

Brooklyn voters selected 17 judges on Tuesday, officially filling key positions across the borough’s courts. While judicial primaries often determine election outcomes in New York, this year’s general election featured a rare contested race in Brooklyn’s 5th Municipal Court District.

The newly elected judges include Hemalee Patel and Jacob Zelmanovitz, Civil Court, 5th District; Janice Robinson and Norma Jennings, Civil Court, 6th District; and countywide Civil Court Judges Alexis Riley, Turquoise Haskin, Tehilah Berman, Tawanna St. Louis, Abayomi Whint and Mark Kagan. The Kings County Supreme Court will welcome Justices Adam Perlmutter, Inga O’Neale, Lisa Lewis, Sharen Hudson, Keisha Alleyne and Christopher Robles, with Justice Jeffrey Sunshine re-elected to his post.

Hemalee Patel, General Counsel at the NYC Board of Elections and an active member of the Brooklyn Bar Association, won the only contested election. Patel secured her seat as a Civil Court judge with 58,799 votes, defeating Benjamin Lieberman, who received 40,084 votes. Jacob Zelmanovitz was also elected as a Civil Court judge in the 5th District, receiving 83,748 votes.

This victory marks a significant milestone for Patel, who previously ran for office in 2017 but lost in the primary to Elena Baron. A graduate of Brooklyn Law School, Patel has more than two decades of legal experience, including roles as a principal law clerk and special referee for the New York State Unified Court System. Her win adds diversity to the Civil Court bench and highlights her dedication to public service and justice.

In the 6th Municipal Court District, Janice Robinson secured her Civil Court seat with 100,664 votes. Housing Court Judge Norma Jennings, who received 90,938 votes, will also join the Civil Court. Jennings, a respected figure in Brooklyn’s legal community, has extensive experience in housing law and has been a staunch advocate for tenant rights.

Jennings launched her campaign earlier this year, promising to bring “clarity to the law and the legal process.” At a campaign event in Grand Army Plaza, she said, “As the 6th district’s next Civil Court judge, I will always make it my first priority to ensure the rights of all Brooklynites who appear before me come first.” Jennings, who lives in Brooklyn with her wife, Judge Juliet Howard, and their two sons, shares the distinction of being part of the first married LGBTQ+ couple appointed to the same court in New York.

Countywide, voters elected six Civil Court judges: Alexis Riley, Turquoise Haskin, Tehilah Berman, Tawanna St. Louis, Abayomi Whint and Mark Kagan. Riley led the vote count with 497,985 ballots cast in her favor.

Brooklyn’s Supreme Court welcomed seven justices, with six elevated from lower courts: Adam Perlmutter, Inga O’Neale, Lisa Lewis, Sharen Hudson, Keisha Alleyne and Christopher Robles. The seventh, Justice Jeffrey Sunshine, was re-elected. Sunshine, the statewide coordinating judge for matrimonial matters, has a distinguished career marked by significant reforms in matrimonial law.

Sunshine has spearheaded initiatives such as the Uncontested Joint Divorce Pilot Project and the creation of the virtual evidence courtroom during the COVID-19 pandemic. His efforts to harmonize Supreme and County Court rules with matrimonial law have improved access to justice for self-represented litigants and survivors of domestic violence.

A former president of the Brooklyn Bar Association, Sunshine continues to play a key role in judicial education and policy development. His numerous accolades include the Brooklyn Bar Association’s Annual Award for Outstanding Achievement in Jurisprudence and Public Service.