Leland George DeGrasse (born 1945/1946) was a judge in New York, New York, who served for seven years as an associate justice of the New York Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, First Judicial Department.

Early life and education

DeGrasse was born in New York City. His father was a postal clerk, his mother became a computer programmer. As a child, he studied in Catholic school. In 1967, he graduated from

St. John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...

with a degree in Spanish. He is a 1972 graduate of

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldes ...

Legal career

He was an Assistant District Attorney with the

Bronx County District Attorney The Bronx County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for Bronx County, which is coterminous with the Borough of the Bronx, in New York City. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws. (Fed ...

's office between 1972 and 1975. He subsequently served on the New York City Civil Court from 1985 to 1988. He was a New York Supreme Court Justice, 1st Judicial District, from 1988 to 2008. He was designated a Justice for the Appellate Division, First Judicial Department in 2008 by Governor David Paterson. He retired from the bench in 2015. He is best known for being the trial judge in the case of '' Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State'', which was brought to compel an overhaul of state aid-to-education formulas. His decision was appealed all the way up to the New York Court of Appeals. Ultimately, the Court of Appeals ordered an additional $1.9 billion in state aid annually for New York City's schools.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Degrasse, Leland 1940s births Living people New York (state) lawyers Politicians from New York City St. John's University (New York City) alumni Howard University School of Law alumni Lawyers from New York City New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department justices