Justice Marguerite Grays named top judge in Queens Supreme Court

Justice Marguerite Grays was named administrative judge of Queens Supreme Court, Civil Term on Tuesday. Eagle file photo by Caroline Ourso

By David Brand

Justice Marguerite Grays has been named the new administrative judge in Queens Supreme Court, Civil Term.

Grays, the first African American woman to serve as the county’s top judge, was officially appointed Tuesday, nearly ten months after former Administrative Judge Jeremy Weinstein retired in August 2019. 

“I appointed Judge Grays as Deputy Administrative Judge because I knew she had the skill set to be an excellent AJ,” Weinstein said. “Intelligent, personable and dedicated, she possesses  all the qualities of leadership. She will return Queens County to its former status as the premier county in the NYS court system.”

Since Weinstein’s retirement, Justice George Silver, the deputy chief judge of New York City, had served as interim administrative judge. Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks praised Grays for her work in the court, including during the transition to becoming top judge.

“Judge Grays is an outstanding judge who, working with Judge Silver over the past months to navigate the many challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, has exercised effective leadership of Queens County’s Supreme Court-Civil Term,” Marks said. “Her administrative skills, combined with her sound judgment, strong work ethic and other fine qualities, will serve her well in this important post.”

Grays started her judicial career in 2000 as a New York City Civil Court judge before she was elected to the Queens Supreme Court bench in 2002. She was re-elected in 2016.

Since 2005, she has served as a presiding justice in the courts’ Commercial Division. In 2015, she became the Eleventh Judicial District’s Deputy Administrative Judge for Civil Matters. In that role, she oversaw the implementation of case management reforms that streamlined court operations.

Before becoming a judge, Grays worked as a law assistant in Queens Civil Court, Queens County and a principal law clerk in Queens Supreme Court, Queens County. She previously worked as staff attorney with Queens Legal Services.

Grays is president of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Women Judges and chair of the Queens County Supreme Court-Civil Term’s Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts. 

She is a past president of the Association of Black Women Attorneys and was the first African American to serve as president of the Queens County Women’s Bar Association. She graduated from the Hofstra University School of Law.