Raja Rajeswari, first Indian-American woman judge of New York

Ms. Raja Rajeswari became the first Indian-born woman to be appointed a judge in New York City. She was sworn-in as a criminal court judge in New York by Mayor Bill de Blasio along with 27 other judges.
They were appointed as judges earlier to the Family Court, Criminal Court, and Civil Court, which are part of the New York State Unified Court System.
Previously, Rajeswari had worked for her entire career with the Richmond County District Attorney’s (DA) Office in several bureaus such as Criminal Court, Sex Crimes Special Victims Bureau and Narcotics, Supreme Court.
Prior to this appointment she had served as Deputy Chief of the Special Victims Unit for more than four years in DA’s office.
Ms. Rajeswari  was born in Chennai and had migrated to United States when she was 16. Apart from her legal acumen, she is also an accomplished Bharathanatyam and Kucchipudi dancer.
Currently, there are two male judges of Indian descent in civil court settings. They are Jaya Madhavan in the New York City Housing Court in Bronx County and Anil C. Singh of 1st District of New York County Supreme Court.

Month: Current Affairs - April, 2015