Queens’ first female judge broke ground on bench 61 years ago

Hon. Joan O’Dwyer, the first woman appointed Queens Criminal Court Judge, brought warmth and effectiveness to the bench. Photo courtesy of Hon. Kelly O’Neill Levy

By Rachel Vick

Before Joan O’Dwyer was appointed to serve on the Queens Criminal Court bench in 1960, she faced questions no judge in the borough had ever been asked before.

What would happen if she got pregnant?, the members of the judicial screening panel asked.

“I’ll have a baby,” she responded. 

O’Dwyer, the first woman to serve as judge in Queens, was no stranger to breaking ground, said her daughter, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Kelly O'Neill Levy. 

Levy recounted the sexist questions O’Dwyer faced more than 60 years ago, as well as her experience at Columbia Law School in the 1940s. At the time, O’Dwyer was one of 12 women in a class of 200. 

“It took guts to get out there and do that; to put yourself out there when you are the first and you might get backlash,” Levy said “She was so remarkable, just an incredible person.” 

“Everybody says that about their mother, but she was really one in a million,” she added. 

After 20 years on the criminal bench, O’Dwyer was appointed to the New York State Court of Claims by then-Governor Mario Cuomo. She continued to serve as a judicial hearings officer after her 1996 retirement, practicing law for 50 years. 

O’Dwyer’s father, an FDNY firefighter, died before she was born, and her mother died when she was 12. Despite a tough upbringing, O’Dwyer never became bitter, Levy said. 

She never spoke ill of other people and answered every phone call with warmth — despite never knowing who was on the other end of the line — an outlook that Levy said inspires her own practice. 

She extended that kindness and respect to everyone who came before her in court, and created an environment like no other, said her court attorney of 30 years M.J. Mezzina. 

“She was a fair judge, she knew the law and she knew how important it was to know the law [well] and apply it properly.” Mezzina said. “She never had knee jerk reactions and was guided by a real sense of justice, and beyond that knew how to treat people.”

There were times when O’Dwyer would have to juggle more cases than any other judge Mezzina said. Her work ethic and ability to cooperate with lawyers and staff earned her the nickname “Saint Joan,” Mezzina said. 

O’Dwyer took the time to ask about attorneys’ families and understood the unforeseeable circumstances that come with being a mother and caretaker, she added.

“She was loved by everyone,” Mezzina added.

O’Dwyer died in 2011 at the age of 85, survived by her three children and numerous grandchildren, and remembered by the countless people who passed through her courtroom.

“It goes to show you can be so very effective and still recognize the humanness of the people in the system,” Mezzina said.

“Nobody did that better than Joan O’Dwyer.”