Queens Dems tap three judges for Supreme Court

From left to right, attorney Frank Bolz, Judge Edwin Novillo, Judge Gail Adams, Judge Oma Phillips, and Rep. Gregory Meeks during the Queens Democratic Party annual judicial convention. Eagle photo by Noah Powelson

By Noah Powelson

Three Queens judges were nominated to run for the New York State Supreme Court by the Queens County Democratic Party on Thursday in the upcoming general election.

Queens County Criminal Court Supervising Judge Edwin Novillo and Civil Court Judges Oma Phillips and Gail Adams will run for three recently vacated seats on the borough’s bench in November. The three judges, who all come from immigrant families, were unanimously nominated during the Queens Democratic Party’s annual judicial convention on Thursday.

Unlike city Civil Court candidates, Supreme Court candidates do not run in a primary. They are selected by a political party’s judicial delegates to run in the general election.

For those looking to join Queens Supreme Court, they must get the backing of the party’s chair, Rep. Gregory Meeks.

During Thursday’s judicial convention, Meeks praised the three candidates and the gathered delegates for nominating them. For the most diverse borough in the country, Meeks said it was critical for the Queens bench to have a judiciary that is representative of the countless communities, languages and religions that reside within it.

“We know that justice is important. Impartial justice is absolute,” Meeks said. “We have to have individuals who are sitting on the bench in those black robes who actually also come from the communities in which they lived in, and have a relationship with people and understand people of various ethnicities, of various religions, of various ages.”

“When you come to the Supreme Court in Queens County, you will see the most diverse judges on the bench of any place in the United States of America,” Meeks added.

Queens’ judicial conventions are largely predetermined and ceremonial, with party officials and attending delegates reading off scripts as they nominate judicial candidates pre-approved by party leadership.

During the convention, a delegate nominates a candidate, the nomination is seconded by another delegate and then an oral vote is held. Each vote is nearly always unanimous, though past conventions have seen detractors voice opposition either in protest or against a specific candidate.

That wasn’t the case on Thursday. All three candidates were nominated without a mumble of opposition from the hundreds of delegates gathered.

Here’s more about the Democratic party’s Supreme Court nominees:

Judge Edwin Novillo

Novillo has been a long-time face in Queens Criminal Court, both as an attorney and a judge. He currently serves as the supervising judge for Queens Criminal Court, a position he’s held since 2024.

He got his start as an attorney for the Legal Aid Society, representing defendants in both Queens and Brooklyn over a 14-year career.

He was appointed as an interim Civil Court judge by former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2018. Novillo was the first judge of Ecuadorian descent to be appointed to the bench.

As supervising judge, Novillo previously said he made it his priority to resolve the number of outstanding cases that were over a year old, as well as advocate for an additional trial part and new judges for Queens Criminal Court.

Novillo immigrated from Ecuador along with his family when he was a young child, and grew up in Jackson Heights. Novillo said his experience growing up in a working-class family is what motivated him to go to law school and what eventually drove him to the bench.

During the convention, Novillo commented on his immigrant story.

“I grew up the son to a mother who was a factory worker in the Garment District, and the son to a father who was a waiter at multiple Italian restaurants,” Novillo said. “Today is not only a dream come true for me to accept this nomination, but it's a culmination of all their efforts and all their sacrifice.”

Judge Oma Phillips

The CUNY Law School graduate and recently elected Queens Civil Court judge brings over 20 years’ experience serving in criminal and civil courts across Queens and the Bronx.

Raised by immigrant parents from Guyana, Phillips grew up in the Bronx and is a product of the New York City public school system. Phillips said her father immigrated from Guyana in 1969, and, alongside her mother, worked multiple jobs to support their family and get their eight children an education.

She began her legal career as an assistant district attorney for the Bronx DA’s office, but has also worked as an attorney for the Department of Correction and the U.S. Postal Service, as well as a court attorney in courthouses across Queens and Brooklyn.

Phillips was elected to be a judge for Queens Civil Court last year, and has sat on the bench since January.

“These experiences, across criminal, civil, and family matters, prepared me for the responsibility that accompanies this nomination,” Phillips said. “Justice must be administered with both empathy and firmness, always grounded in fairness and the rule of law. This nomination is not only an honor, but a solemn calling, and that I approach with seriousness, humility, and commitment to serving the people of the State of New York.”

Judge Gail Adams

Similar to her fellow nominees, Adams comes from a Guyanese immigrant family and earned her stripes working as an attorney for the Legal Aid Society.

Adams was elected to the Queens Civil Court in the last general election, and has sat on the bench since January. The sister of former Justice Pam Jackman Brown, Adams has over 20 years’ experience working on both sides of the courthouse.

She got her start as a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, representing defendants in criminal cases. She eventually moved on to the private sector, where she worked at various law firms specializing in family, real estate, matrimonial and tenant law.

Adams joined the Unified Court System in 2012 when she became the principal law clerk to Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Fern Fisher. She eventually became a court attorney for the city and transferred to Queens Supreme Civil Court in 2024.

Adams has been serving as a Queens Civil Court judge since January. She was elected in last November's general election.

“I accept this nomination humbly,” Adams said. “I am greatly humbled and appreciated for the confidence you’ve seen in me for the work that I have done so far. I promise that I will continue and I will not let you down.”