Judge Michael Pinto says a first-grade teacher’s prediction pushed him toward law, and that path began at Our Lady Star of the Sea in Huguenot. He later studied at St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School, Wagner College, and St. John’s University School of Law in Queens. Pinto said his grandfather, Vincent Pizzuto, an Appellate Division judge, inspired him to become a lawyer. He founded the Minty Awards to honor Staten Island high school theater students, and the event is now in its 17th year. After law school, Pinto worked in private practice, then in commercial litigation, before becoming a court attorney in 2020. He was elected a New York City Civil Court judge in 2023, later served in Brooklyn Criminal Court, and now sits in Staten Island Civil Court.
