Judge of Dominican descent reaches milestone appointment

New York.- Three judges of Latino descent will sit on the Court of Appeals for the first time on Tuesday, when Appellate Division, First Department, Justice Rolando Acosta will join the high court by designation.

Outlet newyorklawjournal.com reports that Acosta will join Court of Appeals Judges Jenny Rivera and Michael Garcia, to hear Kimmel v. State of New York, an appeal of an Appellate Division, Fourth Department, decision awarding legal fees and expenses under the state’s Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) to a former state trooper who sued the state police agency for sex discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation under the Human Rights Law (NYLJ, March 31, 2014).

“Judge Acosta is a great leader in the Dominican and Latino legal community, and the DBA is incredibly proud of his accomplishments throughout his career,” bar president Vianny Pichard said in a statement quoted by .newyorklawjournal.com.

“We look forward to celebrating future examples of diversity in the judiciary, particularly with our Latino jurists.”

Acosta will sit in for Judge Eugene Fahey. He will be the first Dominican judge to sit on the court by designation.