Announcing our Ratings of Candidates for Judges of the New York City Civil Court on the Ballot for the June 23, 2026 Primary Elections
June 9, 2026 – The Judiciary Committee of The LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York (LeGaL) is pleased to announce its ratings of candidates in the contested primary elections for the five counties of New York City for the office of Judge of the New York Civil Court.
Candidates were eligible to receive the following ratings: "Highly Approved," "Approved," "Not Approved," or "Failed to Appear."
In order to obtain an "Approved" rating, the Judiciary Committee’s Rules require that the Judiciary Committee be satisfied that the candidate, once on the bench, would: 1) demonstrate a commitment to the equality of rights for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people; 2) possess the integrity, intellect, experience, and temperament required of judicial office; and 3) perform judicial duties without bias or prejudice against or in favor of any person and will not permit discrimination against any minority in his or her courtroom or office.
To obtain a rating of "Highly Approved," the Judiciary Committee’s Rules require that the candidate demonstrates that they possess all the characteristics required for an "Approved" rating to an outstanding degree and, in addition, must have demonstrated a history of commitment to the equality of rights for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
Kings County:
Civil Court—6th Municipal Court District
- Janice P. Purvis—Approved
- Michelle Desouza—Failed to Appear
Civil Court—8th Municipal Court District
- Susan A. Liebman—Approved
- Abbye L. Lawrence—Failed to Appear
Queens County:
Civil Court—Countywide
- John J. Ciafone—Approved
- Julie M. Milner—Failed to Appear
- Edward Irizarry—Failed to Appear
- Edmond Wong—Failed to Appear
The Judiciary Committee
Janice B. Grubin, Esq., Co-Chair
Alexandra P. Kolod, Esq., Co-Chair
George D. Adames, Esq., Executive Team Member
Christina M. Browne, Esq., Executive Team Member (on sabbatical)
James A. Naumann, Esq., Secretary (on sabbatical)
Lisa Angeles, Esq.
Dante Bellardita Fernández, Esq.
Lee Coppage, Esq.
Michael B. Gallub, Esq.
Brendan M. Gibbons, Esq.
Martha L. Golar, Esq.
Robert H. King, Esq.
Christopher Lynch, Esq.
Gregory A. Locke, Esq.
Concepcion A. Montoya, Esq.
Drake Reed, Esq.
Ethan Rice, Esq.
Joseph H. Rochman, Esq.
Christopher Salloum, Esq.
Michael J. Weiner, Esq.
Lauren J. Zimmerman, Esq.