Caribbean L 20 ife, Feb. 8–14, 2019 BQ
Justice Harriet L. Thompson enters the courtroom to a standing ovation.
Photo by Caroline Ourso
Surrogate’s judge swears in at
packed Supreme Court ceremony
Brooklyn’s new Surrogate’s
Court Judge,
Harriet Thompson, celebrated
the start of her
term with peers and
politicos during her
official 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
Fort Greene–based law
firm, 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. Former
Treasurer, Kings County
Housing Court Bar
Association.
Saving a Life EVERY 11 MINUTES
HELPI’ve fallen and I can’t get up!®
with
GPS!
® Get HELP fast, 24/7,
anywhere with
For a FREE brochure call:
1-800-404-9776
A new law passed by the
New York State Legislature
which Governor Cuomo
supports, “The Child Victims
Act,” will allow victims
of childhood sexual
abuse to recover damages
in a court of law. The bill
extends the civil statute of
limitations to allow civil
actions to be brought until
a victim’s 55th birthday for
child sexual abuse which occurred
before age 18. A one
year window has been created
for adult survivors to
commence civil actions for
damages which under current
law are barred because
of the statute of limitations.
This one year window will
begin six months after the
law takes effect so victims
up until their 55th birthday
can bring civil lawsuits
against individuals or public
and private institutions
from churches to public
school districts for child
sexual abuse that they may
have suffered many decades
ago. The Legislature also
removes the current Notice
of Claim requirements for
public entities in cases involving
child sexual abuse
so a Notice of Intention to
make claim against municipalities
within 90 days is not
required in order to bring a
lawsuit.
Sexual abuse against a
child is a shameful unforgivable
act. It is a traumatizing
experience that can
take a lifetime to come to
terms with. While this new
law cannot erase what happened
to victims, it will give
victims an opportunity to
recover damages in a Court
of Law for what happened to
them.
While the one year window
to bring a legal action
will not begin until 6
months after the law takes
effect victims should consult
an attorney as soon as
possible to begin the painful
and arduous task of their
gathering medical records
and other evidence of their
victimization.