Hon. Luis Gonzalez (retired)

Hon. Luis Gonzalez

Hon. Luis A. Gonzalez was born in Manati, Puerto Rico in 1945. He migrated to United States with his family and settled in the Hell’s Kitchen section of New York in the 1950s. He received his B.A. degree from Eastern Mennonite College in 1968 and graduated with his Juris Doctorate in 1975 from Columbia University School of Law.

In 1975, he served as an Examining Attorney for the New York City Department of Investigation. In 1978, he became General Counsel to the National Director of the Government of Puerto Rico. In 1980, he served as General Counsel to the South Bronx Community Housing Corporation and as a Hearing Officer for the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal in 1981. In 1985, he began his judicial career as a Housing Court Judge in the New York City Civil Court and two years later he was elected as Justice of the Civil Court in Bronx County. In 1992, he was elected Justice of the Supreme Court in Bronx County and then Administrative Judge for the 12th Judicial District. He became a member of the Association of Justices of Hispanic Heritage and served as President from 1989-1993.

In 1998, he sat as Justice for Appellate Term, First Department presiding over Civil and Criminal Court of Appeals. In 2002, he was appointed to the Appellate Division, First Department. In 2009, he was appointed Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department, making him the first Latino to serve as Presiding Justice in New York State. In 2015, he retired from the bench and joined the National Arbitration and Mediation (NAM) firm.

References:

https://www.namadr.com/neutrals-bio/hon-luis-a-gonzalez/

https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/AD1/centennial/Bios/lagonzalez2.shtml

https://ballotpedia.org/Luis_Gonzalez_(New_York)#:~:text=5%20Footnotes-,Luis%20A.,office%20on%20March%203%2C%202002.