Brooklynites making a buzz
Retired justice honored with award in name of late local judge
Call it a celebration
of a life well-lived —
and a job well-done.
Local luminaries and
legal eagles gathered this
month to honor the legacy
of the late Kings County
jurist Justice William
Thompson, by presenting
another accomplished
judge with an award in
his name.
Celebrants packed
the Appellate Division of
the New York State Supreme
Court in Brooklyn
Heights for the Feb. 13
event — co-hosted by the
Brooklyn Bar and Judicial
Friends associations
— where they presented
retired state Supreme
Court Judge Priscilla
Hall with the fi rst-ever
Hon. William C. Thompson
Award, recognizing
Hall’s near decade on the
bench.
Hall served as an associate
justice in the Appellate
Division of the
state Supreme Court,
which former Gov. David
Patterson appointed her
to in March 2009. She retired
from the bench nine
years later, in March
2018 — roughly nine
months before Thompson
died last December
at 94-years-old.
Thompson’s distinguished
career included
such trailblazing
achievements as serving
as Brooklyn’s fi rst black
state senator, Kings County’s
fi rst black administrative
judge, and the fi rst
black New York State Supreme
Court justice.
COURIER L 42 IFE, FEB. 22–28, 2019 M BR B G
(Left) Retired New York State Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Hall addressed the audience
after receiving the Hon. William C. Thompson Award on Feb. 13. (Above) Hall, center
left, showed off the honor beside Thompson’s son, former New York City Comptroller William
Thompson, Jr., center right, Justice Sylvia Hinds-Radix, right, and other attendees.
Photos by Caroline Ourso
(Above, left) Former mayor David Dinkins spoke during the William C. Thompson Award ceremony on Feb. 13. (Right) Event organizers with the Brooklyn
Bar and Judicial Friends associations hung a portrait of Thompson, who died in December, inside the courthouse.
(Left) A large crowd fi lled the the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court in Brooklyn Heights for the ceremony. (Right) Dinkins, far left, New York State Attorney General
Letitia James, center left, Hinds-Radix, center right, and other guests were all smiles.