The "Amici" podcast series was created to share information and insight from New York's judges and the Unified Court System with constituents, stakeholders and anyone else who might have an interest in these topics.
In this Diversity Dialogue segment of the Amici podcast program, we explore Indian boarding schools, institutions established in the U.S. and Canada with the expressed goal of eradicating indigenous culture. Our guest is Marnee Ryan Lehtonen, of Corning City Court. Marnee's grandmother grew up in the notorious Thomas Indian School and, with some prodding by Marnee, shared her experience. Here, Marnee shares what she learned from her grandmother. Diversity Dialogue is a production of the NYS Unified Court System's Office of Diversity & Inclusion. #indianboardingschools #orangeshirtday
Shortly after Peter F. Lane took office as a New York City Civil Court judge in January, he was surprised to get a call from the Estonian Embassy. He assumed it was a wrong number. Regardless, he picked it up and learned that he's apparently the first and only judge in the nation of Estonian descent. In this podcast, we'll explore Judge Lane's background and learn a little about a country in Northern Europe that some of us may have heard of, but most of us could never pinpoint on a map. Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-08/Judge%20Peter%20Lane.pdf
The lack of accessible legal services in rural areas is a national crisis, and New York State — where four million people live in rural areas – is certainly no exception. Presiding Justice Elizabeth A. Garry of the Appellate Division, Third Department, is attempting to address the crisis through a novel “Rural Pathways” initiative that places law students in remote areas where they can experience the camaraderie of the local legal community and appreciate the innumerable benefits of life and practice outside the bigger cities. In this Amici podcast, Justice Garry, who grew up on a dairy farm and spent most of her legal and judicial career in one of the more remote regions of the state, speaks of the need for legal services in rural areas and the recently completed and highly successful pilot program she embraced: Rural Pathways. Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-08/Rural%20Pathways.pdf
In the latest Diversity Dialogue podcast, Esther Louis-Juste, the Justice Coordinator for the Ninth Judicial District and the child of Haitian immigrants, discusses her role in the courts, and how her background and family experiences influence the way she views her job. “I think about my grandpa, who's 102,” she said. “If my grandpa came into this court building today, would he be able to access the courts in a safe manner? Will they be able to accommodate his language barrier or his physical barriers? Will he feel comfortable and safe? If I take the mission statement and apply it to anybody that I encounter, my challenge is making sure that people feel that us, as justice coordinators, and us, as court staff, are meeting their needs for equal justice and access to justice on a daily basis.” The Diversity Dialogues segment of the Court System's Amici podcast program is produced in conjunction with the Office of Diversity & Inclusion. Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-06/OPTIMIZE%20Esther%20Louis%20Juste.%20docx.pdf
Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-08/Goodman-Booth_0.pdf
Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-08/Goodman-Zhu%20Final.pdf
Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-06/TamaraKersh.pdf
Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-05/Goodman-RazzaqFinal_0.pdf
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/18126
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/18131
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/14006
In today's Diversity Dialogue, we'll meet a man well-known to many of us in the court system -- Martin Huynh. But who knew he was a Vietnamese refugee brought out of the country at the age of four by a single parent mom, or that their journey halfway around the world began on a boat and included a period of waiting in the Philippine Islands where they slept on hammocks? Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-05/Martin.pdf
Less than a decade ago, no Black person had ever been elected to state Supreme Court in any of the 28 counties of the Third Department, an area from Kingston to Canada that accounts for about 45 percent of the counties in New York. The woman who broke that barrier and paved the way for several others, the Hon. Christina L. Ryba, was recently appointed Administrative Judge for the Third Judicial District, which encompasses seven counties in the Albany area. In this episode of Amici, the Court System's podcast program, Justice Ryba discusses her journey, her dreams and her plans, and reveals personal details about her childhood, family — and year as the Albany Tulip Queen. Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-06/Judge%20Ryba.pdf
Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-07/GRIPCourt_0_0.pdf
Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/20771
Transcript: /doc/13886
Transcript: /doc/13751
Transcript: /doc/10996
Transcript: Transcripts/AmiciSkinner.pdf
Transcript: Transcripts/JudgeBurns.pdf
Transcript: Transcripts/RobertPigott.pdf
Transcript: Transcripts/GeofHuth(edited).pdf
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/admin/amici/Transcripts/RajaRajeswari.pdf
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/admin/amici/Transcripts/AndraArbetter.pdf
Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-11/CynthiaLaFave6-27-19FINAL_0.pdf
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/15536
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/15531
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/15526
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/admin/amici/Transcripts/EllerinInterview.pdf
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/admin/amici/Transcripts/DYoung12-5-16.pdf
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/admin/amici/Transcripts/MWork1-24-17.pdf
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/admin/amici/Transcripts/BTobin11-18-16.pdf
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/admin/amici/Transcripts/KDoyle12-05-16.pdf
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/admin/amici/Transcripts/MaeDAgostino10-21-16.pdf
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/admin/amici/Transcripts/HHeath10-27-16.pdf
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/admin/amici/Transcripts/VGraffeo10-27-16.pdf
Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-08/Goodman-Booth_0.pdf
Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-08/Goodman-Zhu%20Final.pdf
Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-06/TamaraKersh.pdf
Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-05/Goodman-RazzaqFinal_0.pdf
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/18126
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/18131
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/18131
Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/14006
In this Jewish Heritage Month Diversity Dialogue segment, we are pleased to feature the Hon. Joan B. Lefkowitz. Judge Lefkowitz, who has been on the bench for 38 years, discusses the intricacies of holding true to her Orthodox traditions while serving in the relatively rigid environment of a Court System. It worked, she says, because both she and the Court System accommodated each other's needs. She also reveals that early in her career when she was young and married she was fired from a private sector job for getting pregnant. Diversity Dialogues is a presentation of the Office of Diversity & Inclusion
A Journey from the Homeless Shelter to the Bench: Hon. Raymond P. Fernandez (edited) by John Caher
Growing up in poverty with parents addicted to drugs, few would have predicted that Ray Fernandez would grow up to be a judge. In this Amici podcast, the Hon. Raymond P. Fernandez discusses his struggle, the guardian angels he encountered along the way, and the importance of rejecting victim mentality and learning to stand on top of, rather than be buried beneath, our past. Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-04/Judge%20Fernandez.pdf
On Sept. 11, 2001, then-Captain Luis Valcarcel of the Court System's Department of Public Safety happened to be in Albany attending a meeting on, of all things, emergency preparedness when the country was attacked by terrorists. He was viewing the events unfold on live television, watching as a large plane approached the World Trade Center, and knowing full well that his brother was inside that building. Over his 47 years with the courts, Chief Valcarcel witnessed the growth of a newly unified court system that evolved under the nine Chief Judges under which he served. He ushered in new eras in security and helped make the Department of Public Safety the robust, cutting edge force that is today. But nothing compares to the moment he saw the plane hit the World Trade Center where his brother was working. In this new Amici podcast, Chief Valcarcel, who is retiring effective April 1, shares his story of growing up in the Bronx with a little girl who is now one of the most influential individuals in the nation, as well his memories of 9/11 and the impact that day had not only on his life, but the entire court system. Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-03/Chief%20Valcarcel%20final.pdf
In this episode of Diversity Dialogues, a production of the New York State Unified Court System's Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Amici podcast program, we're going to pull back the curtain and try to see the world from a different set of eyes. We are going to explore how this world looks from the perspective of a little person, learn a little bit about the condition called “dwarfism,” and have a frank discussion about the challenges those with that condition encounter every day in our society. Our guest is the Hon. Sarika Kapoor, a judge in Nassau County who stands all of three foot, eight inches tall. Judge Kapoor is believed to be the first little person ever to serve in the New York State Judiciary. Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-04/Judge%20Kapoor.pdf (NB: The podcast was recorded in October 2024) #dwarfism #achondroplasia
Civics Learning Week kicks off today and runs throughout the week, and for the first time ever the New York Court System is involved, reflecting a priority of New York Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson to promote civic education. In this short podcast, Zenith Taylor, the first Civic Engagement Coordinator in the courts, discusses the importance of civics education, what brought her to this position, and the activities the Unified Court System will engage in this week. Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-03/zenith%20taylor-compressed_0.pdf
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