Justice Diccia T. Pineda-Kirwan currently sits at the Supreme Court of Nassau County where she has presided since 2019. She was elected to the New York State Supreme Court, Queens County in November 2009, after having served as a judge in the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County since January 2003. She is the first Latina elected to the bench and to public office in Queens, and the first female Dominican-born judge elected in the state of New York. Prior to serving as a judge, Justice Pineda-Kirwan worked in the judicial branch for more than 13 years – first as a Court Attorney in the Civil Court, then as a Principal Law Clerk in the New York State Supreme Court.
Born in Baitoa, Santiago in the Dominican Republic, Justice Pineda-Kirwan was nine years old when she immigrated to the U.S., joining her family who had arrived before her in Hollis, Queens. Justice Pineda-Kirwan graduated Cum Laude from Queens College in 1977. Years later, having already started a family but eyeing a career in public service, Justice Pineda-Kirwan joined the inaugural class of the City University of New York Law School at Queens College. While pursuing her law degree as a single parent, she co-founded the CUNY Law School Child Care Center. She earned her Juris Doctorate in 1986.
Justice Pineda-Kirwan is a member of the Dominican Bar Association, the Association of Dominican Judges, and the National Hispanic Bar Association. Currently, she is a board member of the CUNY School of Law’s Board of Visitors. She was a co-founder and Advisory Member of the Latino Lawyers Association of Queens County and a founding member of CUNY Law’s Latin American Law Students Association (LALSA). CUNY Law’s LALSA named a Summer Service Fellowship in her honor to benefit students working in legal non-profit organizations whose work focuses on communities of color. The pride and joy of her career has been mentoring the many law students that have participated in her Judicial Internship Program.
Justice Pineda-Kirwan has served several community organizations, including the Latin American Cultural Center of Queens, the Latin American Women’s Council, The Queens Hispanic Coalition, the Embassy of Latin American Women of Queens, and the Asociación Benéfica Cultural Father Billini.
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