MANHATTAN — First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Norman St. George holds the second-highest ranking administration position within the New York State Judiciary. He does not maintain the same high public profile as the chief judge of the State of New York and the New York Court of Appeals, Rowan D. Wilson, or the Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas.
However, Judge St. George’s vital role in keeping the judicial ship of state running in New York is appreciated and admired by his colleagues at all levels.
St. George attributed much of his success to his father, who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica on a track scholarship in 1958.
Hon. Norman St. George beside the scales of justice. Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman/Brooklyn Eagle
“He believed education was critically important. It was everything,” said St. George. “My dad went on to get three master’s degrees, graduated from Columbia University and became a psychiatrist. His trajectory was incredible, and that was instilled in me.”
St. George added that the way education and career choices were presented to him as a young person were “You study, you do your best, and you can become a doctor or a lawyer. Those were the choices.”
“I felt pretty strongly about going into law, because in high school, I took a biology class and we did a dissection, and I just said to myself, ‘I can’t do this. Being a doctor isn’t my thing,’” he said.
First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Norman St. George said that his working relationship with Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas and Hon. Rowan Wilson is rooted in “collaboration, cooperation and communication.” Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman/Brooklyn Eagle
St. George said that if he went to law school, he wanted to do something “top tier,” such as become a litigator and do trial work. He ultimately graduated from Hofstra Law School and worked as a tax attorney.
Soon after, he began his litigation training at the Garden City law firm Reisch, Simoni, Bythewood and Gleason, handling an extensive caseload of criminal and civil cases. Then he served as an Assistant District Attorney for Nassau County, after which he became a partner in the Wall Street firm of Jackson, Brown, Powell and St. George, LLP.
Today, working in the public sector, St. George operates out of his Beaver Street headquarters in Manhattan, drawing upon his wide base of experience and education to help keep the administration of justice statewide on course.
From left: Lieutenant Robert Foster, Hon. Norman St. George and Lt. Timothy Haggerty. Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman/Brooklyn Eagle
Appointed in 2023, St. George oversees all trial-level courts throughout the state and keeps the judicial ship of state running. He also manages the nearly $4 billion annual operations of the Office of Court Administration, as well as personnel management functions, and supervises the courts in the 10th Judicial District, which covers Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
St. George’s judicial career started in 2004 following his election as a District Court Judge in Nassau County. He was subsequently elected to the Nassau County Court, where he also served as an acting justice of the Supreme Court in the 10th Judicial District. In 2018, St. George was elected as a Supreme Court Justice for the 10th Judicial District.
Ode to Brooklyn
St. George also spoke very highly of Kings County, calling Brooklyn an amazing borough.
“Regarding my personal interaction with Kings County, I spent a lot of time there when I was in college,” he said. “It’s just a wonderful place, probably because its identity and personality were created when it was an independent city.” Brooklyn merged with greater New York City in 1898.
Hon. Norman St. George, left, and Justin Barry, Esq., Office of Court Administration executive director, working on the week’s update meeting. Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman/Brooklyn Eagle
St. George addressed the borough’s heavy volume of case proceedings and caseloads as well.
“The diverse population of Brooklyn, combined with the vast access to courts and court facilities, makes for very busy calendars,” he said.
Over several years, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic, Brooklyn Supreme Court’s Civil Term has received upwards of 20,000 filings and dispositions per year, last year seeing over 25,000 in both. In 2024, New York City Civil Court–Kings County received over 109,000 filings and disposed of over 114,000 matters.
St. George said many initiatives to reduce backlogs and expand alternative dispute resolution have been piloted in Brooklyn, helping ease caseloads and improve efficiency for litigants and court users.
‘Collaboration, communication and cooperation’
St. George described his management style as in line with Wilson’s: “collaboration, communication and cooperation.”
From left: Hon. Milton Tingling, Hon. Raymond Lohier, Hon. Rowan Wilson and Hon. Norman St. George. Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman/Brooklyn Eagle
“We have everyone communicating. We collaborate on ideas, and then we execute,” St. George said. “It’s a total team effort.”
His favorite thing about the job is working with the leadership team, which includes Wilson, Chief Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas, Deputy Chief Administrative Judges Edwina G. Richardson, James P. Murphy and Adam Silvera, at the top of the list.
Hon. Norman St. George, first deputy chief administrative judge. Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman/Brooklyn Eagle
“We all have such a great relationship,” St. George said. “Aside from doing the business of the courts, we truly enjoy and respect each other. We work hard to make sure there are no egos blocking the team effort.”
St. George, who currently resides in Nassau County, revealed that when not overseeing all trial-level courts throughout the state, he enjoys traveling, flying small planes and deep-sea scuba diving.
“I try to stay active,” he said. “I have two young daughters who help me with that as well.”
Looking forward, St. George said he has no immediate plans to retire and aims to continue his role in the courts as long as he can. “It’s just not on my radar.”