Judicial Section

Distinguished Jurist Award

New York State Bar Association Judicial Section 2021

Hon. Rolando T. Acosta
Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, 1^st Department
Hon. Rolando T. Acosta has been Presiding Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, since May 2017. During his tenure, the Court has modernized its systems—making the administration of justice more efficient and accessible to the public—and has enjoyed its highest level of productivity in recent memory. Justice Acosta serves on the Commission to Reimagine the Future of New York’s Courts, the New York City Bar Association’s Council on the Profession, the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Free Expression in the Digital Age, and is a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation.

A proud graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Law School, Justice Acosta is the recipient of Columbia University’s Medal for Excellence and Columbia Law School’s Wien Prize for Social Responsibility. In 2008, he was inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame. He currently serves as a Trustee of Columbia University and as a member of the Dean’s Council of Columbia Law School.

Justice Acosta’s judicial career began when he was elected to a countywide Civil Court judgeship in New York County in 1997. He was thereafter designated as an Acting Supreme Court Justice to preside over and spearhead the creation of the Harlem Community Justice Center, a multi-jurisdictional, “problem-solving” court. In 2002, he was elected as a New York State Supreme Court Justice in New York County. In 2008, he was appointed by the Governor to the Appellate Division, First Department, and served as an Associate Justice until his current appointment as Presiding Justice.

Justice Acosta served as President of the Latino Judges Association and was awarded the Association’s John Carro Award for Judicial Excellence “in recognition of his leadership and scholarly work as a New York State jurist and his work as a mentor and teacher with the Latino Community.” He was named Judge of the Year by the National Hispanic Bar Association in 2004 and received the Jewish Lawyers Guild’s Golda Meir Memorial Award in 2013.

Prior to his judicial service, he held various posts with the Legal Aid Society, including Attorney-in-Charge of the largest civil trial office and Director of Government and Community Affairs. He also served as First Deputy Commissioner and as Deputy Commissioner for Law Enforcement at the New York City Commission on Human Rights.

Justice Acosta was raised in the South Bronx and Washington Heights, having immigrated from the Dominican Republic at the age of 14, and has long been active in the development of the Washington Heights/Inwood social service infrastructure. For example, he helped found the Latino Commission on AIDS and served as legal adviser to the founding board of Alianza Dominicana. He also served as treasurer and chair of the Policy Committee of the Hispanic Federation. He was a founding board member of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone in 1995 and has served on that organization’s Executive Committee and chaired its Human Capital Development Committee.

Justice Acosta remains committed to community service and frequently speaks to new attorneys on the importance of giving back.

The Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission

Advancement of Judicial Diversity Award

New York State Bar Association Judicial Section 2021

Hon. Shirley Troutman
Commission Co-Chair
Hon. Shirley Troutman is an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department and the co-chair of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission. She previously served as a trial judge in New York State Supreme Court, assigned to the Eight Judicial District, where she handled matrimonial and general civil litigations matters. Prior to her election to Supreme Court, Justice Troutman was a County Court Judge where she handled felony criminal cases, appeals and civil matters. She began her judicial career as a Buffalo City Court Judge, where she presided over civil and criminal court matters within the courts’ jurisdiction.

Prior to joining the bench, Justice Troutman was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of New York, Assistant State Attorney General and an Assistant District Attorney.

She has served as an Adjunct Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School. She has served as a Lecturer of the New York State Judicial Institute, as well as CLE programs and seminars, including serving as a Faculty Member for the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence. She is also a member of the Ethics Commission of the New York State Unified Court System, member of the New York State Bar Association Task Force on Attorney Well-Being and has served as a member of the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics.

Justice Troutman received a B.S. from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a J.D. from Albany Law School of Union University. She is also designated as an Advanced Science Technology and Resource (ASTAR) fellow, which is a program sponsored by the United States Department of Justice. As an ASTAR fellow, she is qualified as a resource judge for members of the judiciary of New York State handling complex cases involving scientific evidence.

Justice Troutman served as a member of the editorial board that published “New York State Public Health Legal Manual” in 2011 and authored a report on minority representation on juries in the Eighth Judicial District, which included recommendations on how to improve diversity in jury pools.

She has received the following honors: M. Dolores Denman Award – WNY Chapter of WBASNY, Legal Service Award – Minority Bar Association of WNY, Achievement Award – Committee on Women in the Courts and Local Specialty Bar Associations, and numerous other recognitions.

Hon. Troy K. Webber
Commission Co-Chair
Hon. Troy K. Webber is a graduate of New York University School of Law. She has served as Assistant District Attorney in New York County; senior associate at medium-sized law firm; Deputy Bureau Chief at New York City Corporation Counsel and Law Assistant to a State Supreme Court Justice.

Justice Webber was elected to the Civil Court, countywide in November 1993. She was thereafter elected to Supreme Court from New York County in November 2002 and assigned to Bronx Supreme Court, Criminal Division. Appointed Acting Surrogate New York County in January 2009. In February 2016, Justice Webber was appointed to the Appellate Division First Department.

Justice Webber is an adjunct professor of law at Monroe College.

She is a member of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association, The Bronx Black Bar Association, the Association of Woman Judges, The Judicial Friends, the New York County Lawyers Association as well as serves as Co-Chair of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission. She serves on the New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics and the Advisory Committee on Criminal Law and Procedure.

Justice Webber mentors students who attend the City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice as well as Fordham University School of law.

She has also participated in the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Program which encourages Bronx middle and high school students to pursue a legal career, as well as the moot court programs sponsored by New York University School of Law and New York Law School.

Justice Webber is a proud mother whose daughter was recently admitted to the Bar of the State of New York.

The Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission

The Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission (formerly the New York State Judicial Commission on Minorities) was formed in 1988 to conduct an in-depth study on minority participation on the Unified Court System bench and nonjudicial workforce as well as perceptions regarding racial bias in the courts. Led by noted attorney-statesman Franklin H. Williams, the Commission held public hearings, met with members of the legal community and surveyed minority attorneys, litigants and others. The Commission’s final report was issued in 1991. Among other findings, the 1991 report revealed a severe lack of racial diversity on the bench and in high-level court system positions and a perception among some citizens that minorities are not fairly treated in the courts.

Following the release of the 1991 report, the Commission was established as a permanent entity and renamed in honor of Franklin H. Williams. Recommendations of the 1991 report and Commission programs and proposals put forth since then have generated employment, training and other initiatives that have had to a positive impact in the advancement of persons of color in the courts, and promoted racial and ethnic fairness in the courts. The Commission also promotes ongoing dialogue among members of the court community and legal profession on issues of concern to people of color.

The members of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission are judges, lawyers and court administrators all appointed by the Chief Judge of the State of New York. The Co-Chairs of the Commission are Hon. Shirley Troutman, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, and Hon. Troy K. Webber, Associate Justice, Appellate Division, First Department. Chairs Emeriti of the Commission are: Hon. Lewis L. Douglass—1992-April 2009, Supreme Court Justice (retired); Hon. Rose H. Sconiers—May 2009-August 2015, Associate Justice (retired) Appellate Division, Fourth Department and Hon. Richard B. Lowe III—September 2015-December 2017, Supreme Court Justice (retired). Joyce Y. Hartsfield faithfully shepherded the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission as its Executive Director, for approximately 27 years, retiring in 2019. As an advocate for the Commission, she boldly used her skills to bring about changes in our court system that will benefit generations to come. The Commission’s current Executive Director, Mary Lynn Nicolas-Brewster, Esq., and its long-time Associate Counsel, Karlene Dennis, Esq., continue moving the mission of the Commission forward.

Over the last thirty years, the Commission has sought to ensure equal access and full participation in the Court system by persons and communities of color in the judicial process and the legal profession. The mission of the Commission is to eradicate systemic racism in the court system by taking affirmative steps to address and eliminate barriers to racial and ethnic fairness in the courts; increasing racial and ethnic group representation in all levels of the court system; advising Court administrators and stakeholders on issues of racial and ethnic fairness in the courts in order to formulate policy to address barriers to racial and ethnic diversity in the courts; serving as a voice for concerns of employees (both judicial and nonjudicial personnel) with respect to terms and conditions of employment; addressing issues that impact the community to ensure equal justice and treatment under the law; providing educational programming to court employees, the bench and the bar to raise awareness of racial and ethnic bias in the State court system and conducting research, reviewing statistical data, and publishing periodic reports regarding racial and ethnic equity in the court system and in the legal profession.

As a nation, we have undoubtedly overcome some racial barriers. However, while we celebrate how far we have come, the recent Report of the Special Adviser on Equal Justice in the Courts makes it all too clear that we must not lose sight of how far we have yet to go. Systemic racism is real and negatively impacts our justice system. The Commission remains committed to eradicating systemic racism in our court system and to ensuring equal justice for all.

For more information about the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission, please visit our website at http://ww2.nycourts.gov/ip/ethnic-fairness/index.shtml or call the Executive Director at 212-428-2970.

Mission Statement

The Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission seeks to promote equal access and full participation in the Court system by persons and communities of color in the judicial process and the legal profession by:

• Eradicating systemic racism in the court system by taking affirmative steps to address and eliminate barriers to racial and ethnic fairness in the courts;
• Increasing racial and ethnic group representation in all levels of the court system through examination and review of current practices and recommending measures to enhance racial and ethnic diversity in the selection, retention and promotion of judicial officers, court staff and professionals in the legal community;
• Advising Court administrators and stakeholders on issues of racial and ethnic fairness in the courts in order to formulate policy to address barriers to racial and ethnic diversity in the courts;
• Serving as a voice for concerns of employees (both judicial and nonjudicial personnel) with respect to terms and conditions of employment;
• Addressing issues that impact the community to ensure equal justice and treatment under the law;
• Providing educational programming to court employees, the bench and the bar to raise awareness of racial and ethnic bias in the State court system and partnering with other Court Commissions, Committees, bar associations and justice partners to provide such programming; and
• Conducting research, reviewing statistical data, and publishing periodic reports regarding racial and ethnic equity in the court system and in the legal profession.

FRANKLIN H. WILLIAMS JUDICIAL COMMISSION

CHAIRS

FRANKLIN H. WILLIAMS JUDICIAL COMMISSION MEMBERS