Brooklynites making a buzz
Surrogate’s judge swears in
Brooklyn’s new Surrogate’s
Court
Judge, Harriet
Thompson, celebrated
the start of her term
with peers and politicos
during her offi cial
swearing-in ceremony at
Kings County Supreme
Court on Jan. 24.
Voters elected
Thompson to the Surrogate’s
Court bench last
November, and she succeeds
Judge Diana Johnson,
who recently retired
from the post overseeing
cases that include matters
involving wills, estates,
and adoptions.
Thompson brings a
trove of experience to
her new appointment.
She ran her eponymous
Judge Harriet Thompson recited the ceremonial oath.
Fort Greene–based law
fi rm, Harriet Thompson
and Associates,
LLP, for years before being
elected to the Kings
County Civil Court
bench in 2010.
The judge is also
a member of both the
Brooklyn Bar Association
and Brooklyn
Women’s Bar Association,
as well as a former
treasurer for the Kings
County Housing Court
Bar Association.
(From left) Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Frank Seddio, Judge Diana Johnson, Thompson, Judge Priscilla Hall, Moses Moore, and Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte celebrated Thompson’s
induction. Judge Sylvia Ash congratulated Thompson after the ceremony. Johnson, Seddio, and Thompson recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
(From left) District Leader Joseph Bova, Judge Lillian Wan, senior advisor to the borough president Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Ash, Judge Lorna McAlister, former state Sen. Jessie Hamilton,
and Judge Joy Campanelli. Thompson entered the courtroom to a standing ovation. Judge Genine Edwards, Ash, Judge Rosemarie Montalbano, Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo, and McAlister
were all smiles.
(From left) Judge Lawrence Knipel celebrated with Judge David Vaughan. Lewis-Martin presented Thompson with a citation from the borough president. Court Attorney Olufunmilola
Oquntude-Waterman and Knipel’s Executive Secretary, Mary Griffi th, attended. Bichotte spoke during the ceremony. Judge Connie Melendez caught up with Montalbano.
COURIER L 30 IFE, FEB. 1–7, 2019 M B G
Thompson received her robe and a round of applause during her induction ceremony at
Kings County Supreme Court on Jan. 24. Photos by Caroline Ourso and Victoria Schneps-Yunis