{"id":264435,"date":"2026-06-12T14:13:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/264435\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T14:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:13:09","slug":"who-are-the-judges-on-your-ballot-a-guide-to-brooklyns-judicial-primary-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/264435\/","title":{"rendered":"Who are the judges on your ballot? A guide to Brooklyn\u2019s judicial primary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Early voting starts Saturday<\/a>, June 13 in New York\u2019s June 23 Primary Election<\/a>. If you\u2019re like many New Yorkers, you might be struggling to find information on the judicial primary candidates on your ballot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you live in Brooklyn, look no further: Candidates running in the borough\u2019s two contested Democratic judicial primaries are detailed below. There are no contested Republican judicial primaries in the borough.\u00a0<\/p>\n

District 6: Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Flatbush, Ditmas Park, Lefferts Gardens, Park Slope, Midwood, Kensington<\/p>\n

Brooklynites living in these neighborhoods will be voting for one of two candidates to serve on the borough\u2019s Civil Court bench, where they may handle housing, contract, small claims and other civil cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Brooklyn Judicial District 6 candidates Michelle DeSouza (L.) and Janice P. Purvis (R.), who are running for a seat on Brooklyn Civil Court.Photos via DeSouza for Judge and Janice Purvis
\nMichelle DeSouza<\/p>\n

Michelle DeSouza<\/a> took a slightly untraditional path into the legal field: She went to law school 10 years after she graduated from college, passed the bar while she was pregnant, and, after no one would hire a pregnant woman during the tight economic times of the late 2000s, started a solo practice right out of law school, helping everyone who walked through the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one wanted to hire someone who was showing [pregnancy],\u201d said DeSouza, who now has nearly a decade and a half of experience under her belt. \u201cSo, I eventually started my own practice, where I did real estate, immigration, DACA applications, family petitions, trusts in real estate, family custody: Whatever came in the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a few years at her solo practice, she moved to an elder care firm,\u00a0Grimaldi and Yeung<\/a>, where she drafted various types of trusts before moving to public service law. Most recently, she served as assistant corporation counsel at the New York City Law Department, where she litigated cases on behalf of the city. She\u2019s on leave from the office as she runs her judicial campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DeSouza was born in Guyana and moved to Brooklyn as a teenager with her family, where she grew up in East Flatbush. She currently resides in Canarsie.\n<\/p>\n

The attorney said she\u2019s seeking to be a judge now to create a courtroom where everyone is met with respect and gets equal treatment under the law. As a Guyanese woman, she said she\u2019s been marginalized in the courtroom, especially at the beginning of her career, by people who have assumed she isn\u2019t an attorney or told her they couldn\u2019t understand her because of her accent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe courtroom is usually reserved for attorneys, and I remember going to sit in on the first row, and I was told that it\u2019s only reserved for attorneys,\u201d DeSouza said at a candidate forum.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do not judge people by the way they look and who they are. I\u2019ve learned that early on in my career,\u201d she continued. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s about treating everyone with respect and being impartial, because I know how it feels to be marginalized, and I would never want someone to come into my courtroom and feel that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeSouza is endorsed by the Shirley Chisholm Democratic Club and the Yes We Can Democratic Club. She has been approved by the New York City Bar Association.\n<\/p>\n

Janice P. Purvis<\/p>\n

Currently a court attorney in Brooklyn Civil Court, Janice Purvis<\/a> said she\u2019s always wanted to be a judge. She\u2019s spent over two decades within the city\u2019s Law Department and as a court attorney, where she\u2019s worked directly with dozens of judges, helping to research and write decisions, conference cases, and resolve motions.<\/p>\n

\u201cServing as a judge is the ultimate form of public service that I can provide for the community; it is an incredible opportunity to make a lasting impact in people\u2019s lives,\u201d Purvis said in a statement. \u201cI have always wanted to be a judge and have spent my entire legal career working to develop the extensive experience needed to have the temperament, wisdom, and understanding required to make thoughtful, precise and accurate decisions on the bench.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the course of her 20 years with the Law Department, she\u2019s worked on personal injury, medical and legal malpractice, labor, family, property, and breach-of-contract cases. She currently works directly with Brooklyn Judge Brian Gottlieb and as a special referee in the matrimonial court under Statewide Coordinating Judge for Matrimonial Matters Judge Jeffrey Sunshine.<\/p>\n

Purvis said she\u2019s \u201ccarefully observed and learned\u201d from the judges she\u2019s worked for for years and wants to bring those lessons together to run her own.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cObserving so many judges over the years, the ways that they run their courtrooms during trials, conferences and motions, how they interact with court staff and litigants, and their approach in rendering legal decisions has given me insight into the type of judge I want to be,\u201d Purvis said. \u201cI would apply laws impartially, ensuring that every litigant has an equal opportunity to be heard and their arguments considered.<\/p>\n

She also plans to bring the experience she\u2019s had supporting self-represented litigants in the courtroom and the \u201csensitivity\u201d she\u2019s developed in understanding backgrounds different from her own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI can understand what it feels like for somebody to come into the courthouse not having an attorney and not understanding even what they\u2019re in the courthouse for,\u201d Purvis said. \u201cEqual access to justice is really important to me. I just want to make sure that anybody who appears before me feels that they have had the opportunity to be heard, that they can tell their story \u2026 so that even if I have a ruling that\u2019s against them, they feel heard and they feel understood, and they feel that I\u2019m being impartial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Purvis is executive vice president of the court attorneys union and a member of various bar associations, including the New York State LGBTQ Association, Brooklyn Bar Association, Brooklyn Women\u2019s Bar Association, Columbian Lawyers Association of Brooklyn, Small Claims Arbitrators Association, and Women\u2019s Bar Association of the State of New York. She currently lives in Crown Heights with her daughter and rescue cats, where she\u2019s vice president of her block association.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She has been endorsed by LGBTQ group Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, the Working Families Party, Independent Neighborhood Democrats and Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

District 8: Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Garrett\u2019s Beach, Gravesend, Sheepshead Bay, Bergen Beach and parts of Midwood and Flatlands<\/p>\n

Brooklynites living in these neighborhoods will be voting for one of the two candidates to serve on the county\u2019s Civil Court. While both candidates currently live in Manhattan, they say they have deep roots in Brooklyn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Brooklyn Judicial District 8 candidates and Susan A. Liebman (L.) and Abbye Lawrence (R.) for Brooklyn Civil Court.Photos via Facebook and Abbye Lawrence
\nAbbye L. Lawrence<\/p>\n

Currently a construction liability and personal injury attorney at Litchfield Cavo LLP<\/a> and small claims arbiter in New York City Civil Court, Abbye Lawrence<\/a> says she wants to join Brooklyn\u2019s bench because she believes the borough\u2019s Civil Courts can better serve the people who depend on them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout my career serving in New York City courtrooms, I have seen firsthand how deeply court decisions affect people\u2019s lives, whether it involves their homes, livelihoods, families, or future opportunities,\u201d Lawrence said in a statement. \u201cI want to help ensure that justice is accessible to all, no matter who they are, where they come from, what language they speak, or how much money they have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before moving to private practice, she worked as Senior Counsel in the Special State Law Enforcement Defense Unit in the city\u2019s Law Department and clerked for Civil Court and Supreme Court judges in the city for years. That work, she said, taught her \u201chow the courtroom works\u201d and provided her with experience working with self-representing litigants.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt taught me a lot about working with self-represented people and how to treat individuals fairly and with respect,\u201d Lawrence said at a Brooklyn candidate forum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A lifelong New Yorker, Lawrence has said she \u201cwon\u2019t let anyone be pushed around in her courtroom.\u201d She said she would have a focus on \u201cexpanding access to justice to women and families,\u201d and protecting people\u2019s rights in the courtroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be a judge because I believe the courts should be a place where every person is treated with dignity, fairness, and respect,\u201d Lawrence said. \u201cAs a judge, I would be honored to serve the people of Brooklyn by upholding the rule of law, protecting due process, and ensuring that every litigant receives a fair hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawrence has been endorsed by Four Freedoms Democratic Club.\n<\/p>\n

Susan A. Liebman<\/p>\n

After working in \u201cjust about every part of the court system,\u201d Susan Liebman<\/a> is seeking a seat on Brooklyn\u2019s Civil Court bench.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If elected, she says she\u2019ll bring the \u201cunique sensitivity\u201d she\u2019s gained in her current role: offering pro bono legal services to domestic violence survivors through Mount Sinai\u2019s victim services program.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s given me respect for everybody and their unique situations. Everyone\u2019s unique lifestyles must be respected, and that\u2019s what I would bring to the courtroom,\u201d Liebman said at a candidate forum. \u201cI treat everyone as human beings and as individuals.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prior to working with women and transgender people escaping abusive situations through Mount Sinai, Liebman has been a law clerk to three different Brooklyn Supreme Court judges, drafting thousands of decisions on everything from foreclosures to personal injury to matrimonial matters over the course of several decades, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Liebman has been endorsed by LGBTQ group Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, Independent Neighborhood Democrats, Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club and elected officials Diana Gonzalez, Mark Hanna and Joanne Simon. She has been found highly qualified by Brooklyn\u2019s judicial screening committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Early voting for the June 23 election runs from June 13 to June 21. You can find your polling place at https:\/\/voterlookup.elections.ny.gov\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n