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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, MARCH 3, 2019
‘Bench’ press
Local jurist stars on TV show ‘Hot Bench’
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ALL RISE: Judge Michael Corriero, far right, serves as one of three jurists on CBS’s syndicated court
show “Hot Bench.” Judge Michael Corriero
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BY NATALLIE ROCHA
He’s so hot right now!
Brooklyn Heights judge
Michael Corriero dispenses
justice fi ve days a week on
his hit daytime television
show “Hot Bench,” much
like he did during his decades
long tenure as a New
York jurist.
Corriero spent 28 years
in the criminal courts of
New York State, 16 of them
presiding over Manhattan’s
Youth Part, a special
court he created to bring
attention to young offenders
being prosecuted as
adults. He continued his
work with the city’s youth
after retiring in 2008, when
he became Executive Director
of Big Brothers Big
Sisters of New York City,
and then established the
New York Center for Juvenile
Justice.
Then an old friend, Judy
Sheindlin — known nationwide
as the honorable
Judge Judy — asked him to
lend his talents to her CBS
show featuring a panel of
three judges. Now Corriero
sits on the “Hot Bench”
next to two other judges —
Judge Patricia Dimango
and Judge Tanya Acker —
and the trio reach a whopping
3.2-million viewers
each weekday. The native
New Yorker now splits his
time between Los Angeles
and Brooklyn Heights, but
found time to chat with this
paper about his infl uences
and his love for the city’s
biggest borough.
Natallie Rocha: What
inspired you to study law?
Michael Corriero: I
grew up across the street
from the Manhattan court
system — they called it
“the Tombs.” I was always
curious about what was
happening in that building.
I would play a game
with my buddies where
we would try and get past
the offi cers and play in the
bowels of the building. We
would see the offi cers and
defenders of criminal law
at the corner of Baxter and
White Street and it was really
the entire atmosphere
that drew me in.
NR: What draws you to
juvenile justice reform?
MC: What drew me in
initially was wanting to
work with young people
who found themselves outside
the letter of the law. If
people saw me at the corner
of Mulberry and Hester
Street when I was 15 or 16
years old, they never would
have imagined that this
kid would grow up to be
a judge. I grew up on the
mean streets of Little Italy
and I had to navigate big
points in time where one
step in the wrong direction
could obstruct a meaningful
career. I am fortunate
and I always want to communicate
how valuable
education is. In this country,
we believe that knowledge
is power. We believe
in the idea that no matter
who you are or where you
come from, you can succeed.
Neither my mother
nor my father had a formal
education, but they recognized
how valuable education
was.
NR: Growing up, did
you ever get out of Manhattan
to explore Brooklyn?
MC: Brooklyn was always
a place I wanted to
be. When I was young, I
wanted to go to Coney Island
with my friends during
the summer. My mom
let us take the subway to
the beach. There was one
part of the subway where
it was an elevated ride and
you could see all of Brooklyn
and the neighborhoods,
it was beautiful. Brooklyn
was like its own country.
Brooklyn Beat
Hot Seat
Favorite restaurant:
Antica Pesa in Williamsburg
(115 Berry St. between
N. Seventh and N.
Eighth streets). It is owned
by a Roman family and
they have one of the same
name in Italy.
Favorite spot: Brooklyn
Heights Promenade.
Since it’s my neighborhood,
I like to walk the dog
and jog through there. It
gives you a nice perspective
of Manhattan — seeing
it all is a dreamlike experience
and it is the best
in the early morning. It
is what defi nes Brooklyn
Heights.
Favorite landmark:
As a judge, on my way
to work at the Supreme
Court, I would drive across
the Brooklyn Bridge. The
architecture was almost
like the gates to a medieval
city and it always inspired
me.