Anthony Cannataro (born July 1965) is an associate judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

, serving since September 1, 2022. He has served as an associate judge of the same court since his 2021 appointment by then-Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

. Cannataro previously served as the chief administrative judge of the New York City Civil Court from 2018 to 2021 and as a judge on various New York City courts from 2012 to 2021.

Early life and education

Cannataro was born in July 1965 in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in the

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1993 and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private, American law school in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The third oldest law school in New York City, its history predates its official founding in 1891 by Theodore William Dwight, T ...

in June 1996.

Career

Cannataro was the principal law clerk to Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick of the

from 2000 to 2003 and principal law clerk to Judge Lottie E. Wilkins of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

from 2003 to 2011. From 2012 to 2017 he was elected to serve as a judge of the New York City Civil Court. From 2012 to 2014 he was designated a judge of the New York Family Court for

Kings County, New York Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...

. From 2014 to 2015 he was a judge of the New York City Civil Court for

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. From 2015 to 2016 he was designated an acting Supreme Court Justice for the

. From 2016 to 2018, he was appointed a supervising judge for the New York City Civil Court. In 2017 he was elected to the

to serve in the civil term. From 2018 to 2021, he served as an administrative judge of the New York City Civil Court after being appointed by chief administrative judge Lawrence K. Marks.

New York Court of Appeals service

Cannataro was one of seven candidates submitted to the governor in April 2021. On May 25, 2021, Governor

announced Cannataro as a nominee to be an Associate Judge of the

, filling the seat vacated by the retirement of Judge Paul Feinman on March 23, 2021. He was confirmed on June 8, 2021, and took office the same day. His formal investiture ceremony took place on April 5, 2022. Cannataro is the second openly gay judge to have served on the New York Court of Appeals. On March 24, 2023, Cannataro was selected as a finalist under consideration for appointment to the New York Court of Appeals, this time for the position of chief judge following the retirement of Chief Judge

Janet DiFiore Janet Marie DiFiore (born August 9, 1955) is an American lawyer and judge who served as the Chief Judge of New York Court of Appeals from 2016 to 2022. DiFiore was born in Mount Vernon, New York, and graduated from Long Island University and S ...

and the subsequent rejection of Justice Hector LaSalle's nomination to that seat by the New York State Senate.

Personal life

Cannataro was born to parents who emigrated from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He and his husband live in

Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the northern part of the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is named for Fort Washington (Manhattan), Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the Bennett Park (Ne ...

References

External links