Justice Gomez immigrated to this country at the age of six from the Dominican Republic. He was raised in Washington Heights and is a product of the New York City public schools. He attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies. He then attended the University at Buffalo Law School, where he received his Juris Doctor. While there, Justice Gomez was the Executive Editor of the Public Interest Law Journal, the Regional Director and Coach of the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court, and a member of the Criminal Law Review.
On November 7, 2017, Justice Gomez was elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York. He became the first Dominican man be elected to that Court in Bronx County. From January 2, 2018, through January 1, 2022, he presided over cases in the Civil Court of the City of New York, where he heard a multitude of cases. Specifically, Justice Gomez presided over both jury and non‑jury cases involving contract disputes, negligence and personal injury actions, commercial landlord/tenant disputes, cases involving the New York State no‑fault law, matters involving consumer credit disputes, and cases in Small Claims Court. In 2022, Justice Gomez was appointed to the Supreme Court as an Acting Justice, where he presides over the Commercial Division. In that capacity, he has exclusive jurisdiction over all complex commercial matters venued in the Supreme Court, Bronx County and he also tries complex jury cases, involving a myriad of issues. In 2022, Justice Gomez was elected to full term on the Supreme Court and as of January 2023, continues to preside in the Commercial Division. During his almost six years on the bench, he has published 63 judicial opinions, presided over numerous non‑jury trials and hearings and has presided over 42 jury trials.
Before being elected, Justice Gomez was an attorney for almost 20 years. He began his legal career as an Assistant Corporation Counsel within the City of New York=s Law Department. While there, he litigated thousands of civil matters brought against the City of New York, engaging in virtually all aspects of the civil litigation process. He took and defended hundreds of depositions, argued and drafted hundreds of motions, and appeared in court thousands of times. By the time he left the Law Department, he had tried 35 cases, 32 of which were before a jury.
In 2004, Justice Gomez became Justice Nelson Roman=s Principal Law Clerk in Supreme Court Bronx County. In the ensuing five years, Justice Roman sat in the Civil Term where and has his Law Clerk, Justice Gomez drafted hundreds of decisions, over 40 of which were published in the Official Reporter and several the New York Law Journal. Justice Gomez also personally conferenced hundreds of cases, ruled on hundreds of motions and ruled on hundreds of jury selection challenges. In 2009, Justice Gomez then became Justice Roman=s Law Clerk while Justice Roman sat on the Appellate Division, First Department. During his four years at the Appellate Division, Justice Gomez worked on family and criminal law appeals, complex commercial matters, attorney disciplinary matters, and cases emanating from the Surrogates Court. While there, Justice Gomez also drafted hundreds of decisions. In June 2013, Justice Gomez returned to the Bronx, clerking for several justices, including Justice Mitchell Danziger while he sat in the City Part and Justice Ben Barbato while he presided over the Summary Jury Trial Part.
Justice Gomez frequently speaks at schools to students of all ages, always emphasizing the importance of an education, hard work, tenacity, and perseverance. Additionally, Justice Gomez also teaches Continuing Legal Education courses for various organizations, including the Puerto Rican Bar Association, the New York Civil Judges Association, and the New York State Professional Process Servers Association.
Justice Gomez currently resides in the Bedford Park Section of the Bronx with his wife Janette Cortes‑Gomez, a Family Court Judge, and his seven‑year old son Ethan.
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