Judicial candidate Devian Daniels want to give Queens voters a choice
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Jamaica-based lawyer Devian Daniels is vying for one of the two available spots on the Civil Court bench. Photo courtesy of Daniels
By Rachel Vick
Queens Civil Court Judicial Candidate Devian Daniels has spent more than a decade working in the different parts of civil courts.
Now, she’s looking to make her mark on the bench as the only independent candidate, running without nomination by the Queens Democratic Party, a feat last accomplished by Hon. Lumarie Maldonado Cruz in 2019.
“I know I'm not following the normal process, which is the county party selecting who would run, [but] I'm running because I think voters should have a choice,” she said. “They should get a chance to choose from people who care.
“I don't want to just be someone who people preselect,” she added. “I'd rather them see who I am, my experience, my heart and the cases I've handled.”
Daniels, who moved to Jamaica from the South Bronx after college, graduated from CUNY Law and has lent her legal skills to CLARO Court and as a City Council community legal counselor, and as an arbitrator for the MTA and in her own firm.
Growing up, she planned to follow in her older sister’s footsteps and go into medicine, but after learning about her college roommate’s father’s career in law — the first person she knew who was a lawyer — Daniels began to explore the possibility of blazing her own path.
Over the years she has worked on cases in family court, on police brutality and disputing life insurance fraud, but one inspiring interaction with the judiciary that has stood out over the years was a moment inside a ceremonial courtroom where a nervous client responded to the judge's greeting by saying “welcome.”
“Courthouses are public, it's not the judges personal courthouse; they're there at the will of the people and when my client welcomed the judge… I realized it wasn't strange,” Daniels said. “I think that's one thing I want to remember when I become a judge — the courthouse, the race is for the community.”
She went on to recount the nerve wracking experience of having to appear in front of the judge to present a case, not litigate, when her application to be put on the ballot was denied on a postal technicality.
Though the experience was far from the gravity of issues many court attendees face, the vulnerability she felt having to rely on a judge who might not see the situation the same way she did stuck with her.
“Millions of people come to the New York City courts and are hoping to get a judge who sees them and cares about community and justice,” Daniels said. “It was a sobering experience and made me realize how important and personal [the court experience] is for everyone.”
She said the part of being a fair and accountable judge is remembering that “everybody is important and valuable.”
“People come to court at their worst and our job is to not make it worse... regardless of what the situation is you need to treat them with respect and dignity.”
