Anthony Cannataro (born July 1965) is the acting

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

, serving since September 1, 2022. He has served as an associate judge of the same court since his 2021 appointment by then-Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...

. Cannataro previously served as the chief administrative judge of the New York City Civil Court from 2018 to 2021 and as a judge on various

New York City courts The New York City court system consists of the several citywide and state courts. Courts There are two city courts, the Criminal Court and the Civil Court, and several state courts, the Supreme Court, Surrogate's Court, and Family Court. Unlike t ...

from 2012 to 2021.

Early life and education

Cannataro was born in July 1965 in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in the

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1993 and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...

in June 1996.

Career

Cannataro was the principal law clerk to Judge

Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick (born January 1, 1942) is a judge who served as associate judge on the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state of New York, from 1994 through 2012, when she reached mandatory retirement age. As of Jun ...

of the

from 2000 to 2003 and principal law clerk to Judge Lottie E. Wilkins of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

from 2003 to 2011. From 2012 to 2017 he was elected to serve as a judge of the New York City Civil Court. From 2012 to 2014 he was designated a judge of the

New York Family Court The Family Court of the State of New York is a specialized court of the New York State Unified Court System located in each county of the state.Constitution of the State of New York Article VI, § 13 The New York City Family Court is the name giv ...

for

Kings County, New York Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

. From 2014 to 2015 he was a judge of the New York City Civil Court for

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. From 2015 to 2016 he was designated an acting Supreme Court Justice for the

. From 2016 to 2018, he was appointed a supervising judge for the New York City Civil Court. In 2017 he was elected to the

to serve in the civil term. From 2018 to 2021, he served as an administrative judge of the New York City Civil Court after being appointed by chief administrative judge Lawrence K. Marks.

New York Court of Appeals service

Cannataro was one of seven candidates submitted to the governor in April 2021. On May 25, 2021, Governor

announced Cannataro as a nominee to be an Associate Judge of the

, filling the seat vacated by the retirement of Judge

Paul Feinman Paul George Feinman
''New York Times'' (December 1, 2013). (January ...

on March 23, 2021. He was confirmed on June 8, 2021, and took office the same day. His formal investiture ceremony took place on April 5, 2022. Cannataro is the second openly gay judge to have served on the New York Court of Appeals. On March 24, 2023, Cannataro was selected as a finalist under consideration for appointment to the New York Court of Appeals, this time for the position of chief judge following the retirement of Chief Judge

Janet DiFiore Janet Marie DiFiore (born August 9, 1955) is an American lawyer and judge who served as the Chief Judge of New York Court of Appeals from 2016-2022. DiFiore was born in Mount Vernon, New York, and graduated from Long Island University and St. ...

and the subsequent rejection of Justice Hector LaSalle's nomination to that seat by the New York State Senate.

Personal life

Cannataro was born to parents who emigrated from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He and his husband live in Washington Heights, Manhattan.

References

External links