Award recognizes public service

District Attorney Richard A. Brown celebrated Black History Month by presenting Justice Juanita Bing Newton, the New York State Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives and New York City Criminal Court Administrative Judge, with the William Tucker Garvin Public Service Award.
The William Tucker Garvin Public Service Award was established in 2001 in honor of the first African-American Assistant District Attorney appointed in Queens County. The award is presented annually during Black History Month to an individual of African-American descent in recognition of his or her notable contributions to public service.
“. . . This year’s honoree — Judge Juanita Bing Newton — whose . . .leadership and compassion for justice and public service has motivated and inspired many, just like William Garvin,” said Brown.
Judge Newton, a native New Yorker, began her career in public service in New York in 1975 as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, where she rose to the position of Chief of the Arson/Economic Crimes Unit before leaving after eight years to serve as Counsel and Executive Director to the New York State Sentencing Guidelines Commission which was established to review and reform New York State’s criminal justice sentencing structure. In 1985, Judge Newton was named the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for New York City.
In December 1986, Judge Newton began the second phase of her legal career by accepting a judicial appointment by then-Governor Mario M. Cuomo to the New York State Court of Claims. For more than a decade, she served as an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court in New York County, first as a trial judge and then as the Administrative Judge. In 1999, Judge Newton was appointed by Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman to the statewide position of Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives, where she is responsible for providing statewide oversight in developing and implementing programs to assure meaningful access to justice for all New York citizens. In 2003, Judge Newton assumed an additional assignment when she was appointed as the Administrative Judge of the Criminal Court for the City of New York.
She is a member of several committees and organizations including the New York County Lawyers’ Association Task Force to Increase Diversity in the Legal Profession of which she is Chair. She was recently named a member of the CUNY Law School Board of Visitors and the American Bar Association’s Commission on Sentencing, Corrections and Re-entry.