MAYOR MAMDANI ANNOUNCES 3 JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS

The mayor appointments and reappointments reflect commitment to accountability, fairness, and safety for New Yorkers  

Mayor Mamdani also announced 9 judicial reappointments  

TODAY, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced 3 new judicial appointments which will be subject to a public hearing for official appointment in January: Cary Fischer, Natalie Barros, and Andrés Casas.  

 

"New Yorkers deserve a justice system that delivers accountability, safety, and fairness across the five boroughs. I am proud to announce these judicial appointments, whose depth of experience and commitment to impartiality will strengthen our courts and restore public trust," said Mayor Zohran Mamdani. 

 

•  Judge Cary Fischer began his legal career with the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney assigned to the Criminal Court, Grand Jury and Narcotics Bureaus. After six years, he joined the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, initially as an Assistant District Attorney in the Crimes Against Children Trial Bureau. Thereafter, he was promoted to Senior Trial Attorney, then Deputy Bureau Chief of the Red Zone Trial Bureau. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Fischer served as the Bureau Chief of the Early Case Assessment Bureau and New York Law School, Adjunct Professor of the Criminal Prosecution Clinic. 

 

•  Judge Natalie Barros started her legal career with the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney in the Criminal Court and Trial Bureaus, where she served for a decade before joining the New York State Unified Court System. There, Judge Barros served as a Court Attorney in Criminal Court, Richmond County. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she served as a Supervising Court Attorney. 

 

•  Judge Andres Casas started his legal career working with The Safe Passage Project as a Pro Bono Attorney. He then left to serve as an Assistant District Attorney with the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office where he remained for 4 years before joining the New York State Unified Court System. There he served as a Principal Court Attorney in Supreme Court, Criminal Term, Kings County before briefly leaving to work as a Litigation Attorney for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Prior to his appointment, Judge Casas resumed his service with the New York State Unified Court System as a Principal Court Attorney in Supreme Court, Richmond County. 

 

In addition to these new appointments, Mayor Zohran Mamdani also announced 9 judicial reappointments: 

 

Mayor Zohran Mamdani reappointed the following judges to Criminal Court:  

 

•  Judge Steven Hornstein was first appointed to the Criminal Court in January 2013, then reappointed January 2016. He began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Homicide, Transit, Violent Crime and Criminal Court Bureaus for the Bronx County District Attorney's Office before becoming a Supervisor in the Grand Jury Bureau and Burglary-Auto-Gun Unit.  Judge Hornstein then left to establish his private practice as a solo criminal defense practitioner. Then he created a partnership firm specializing in criminal defense which he maintained for 18 years. Prior to his initial appointment, Judge Hornstein had returned to solo criminal defense practice. 

 

•  Judge Althea Drysdale was first appointed as an Interim Civil Court Judge in February 2015, then as a Criminal Court Judge in January 2016. Judge Drysdale started her career at the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division where she served as a Staff Attorney for a decade before joining the New York County Defender Services. There she served as a Senior Trial Attorney for eight years, prior to her initial appointment to the bench.   

 

•  Judge Joshua Glick was first appointed as a Criminal Court Judge in August 2021. He began his legal career with The Legal Aid Society, Queens County Criminal Defense Practice before joining Queens Defenders where he served for 14 years while also operating his own practice. Judge Glick was then briefly employed as a Principal Law Clerk to a New York State Supreme Court Justice and as an Associate with a private firm. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he returned to the Queens Defenders as a Supervising Attorney while also maintaining his own practice. 

 

•  Judge Jerry Iannece was first appointed as an Interim Civil Court Judge in May 2017, before being appointed to Criminal Court in January 2018. He began his legal career as a prosecutor with the Bronx County District Attorney's Office and subsequently went into private practice, maintaining a general practice partnership, including criminal defense work, for 29 years before his initial appointment to the bench. 

 

•  Judge Nancy Carrington was first appointed as a Criminal Court Judge in September 2024. Judge Carrington started her legal career as an associate at several law firms before joining the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney in the Domestic Violence, Trials, and Criminal Court Bureaus. She then served as Deputy Bureau Chief of the Criminal Court Bureau before leaving to join the New York State Unified Court System. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Carrington served as a principal court attorney in Supreme Court, Kings County, Criminal Term. 

 

•  Judge Michael Hartofilis was first appointed as an Interim Civil Court Judge in February 2018. He began his legal career with the Queens County District Attorney’s Office where he served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Criminal Court, Grand Jury, Homicide Investigations, Narcotics and Supreme Court Trial Bureaus. Judge Hartofilis then established his own criminal defense practice, which he maintained for 22 years, prior to his appointment to the bench.  

 

•  Judge David Goodwin was first appointed as a Criminal Court judge in January 2025. He began his legal career as a Staff Attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Judge Goodwin then joined the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey as a Law Clerk, after which he was appointed a Warren H. Sinsheimer fellow working with the Partnership for Children’s Rights. He served again as a Law Clerk in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit before moving on to join the Appellate Advocates as a Senior Staff Attorney. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Goodwin served as a Supervising Staff Attorney in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Office of Legal Affairs. 

 

Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani reappointed the following judges to Family Court: 

 

•  Judge Gayle Roberts was first appointed as a Family Court Judge in April 1997, she was then reappointed in December 2005 and February 2016. After starting her career as a Staff Attorney with Mid-Hudson Legal Services, Judge Roberts joined the Bronx County District Attorney's Office where she was first an Assistant District Attorney, then a Supervisor of the Criminal Court Bureau. Prior to her initial appointment to the bench, she was serving as a Deputy Bureau Chief of the Trial Division. 

 

•  Judge Lauren Norton-Lerner was first appointed to the Interim Civil Court in June 2025 and has been serving in Family Court. She started her legal career as an Investigative Attorney with the United States Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration before leaving to join the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), Division of Legal Services as an Attorney Level III/ Team Leader. She then joined a series of private firms before leaving to serve with the New York State Unified Court System as a Court Attorney in Family Court, Queens County. Judge Norton-Lerner served as Court Attorney Referee in Family Court, Bronx and Queens counties for 13 years prior to her appointment to the bench.