Advocates urge Hochul, Mamdani to deny 'vindictive' Bronx judge more time on bench

"For more than 15 years, prosecutors and defense attorneys in the Bronx have filed complaints describing Judge Ralph Fabrizio as volatile, abusive and unfit to serve, according to news reports. He has never faced public discipline. Now, with Fabrizio's term expiring and a potential state Supreme Court appointment on the table, one reform group is urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul to deny him any more time on the bench."

"In 18-page letters sent to Mamdani and Hochul, and shared exclusively with Gothamist ahead of broader release, the nonprofit Center for Community Alternatives argued Fabrizio's record - including appellate reversals, formal complaints and numerous reported courtroom clashes - should disqualify him from either reappointment by the mayor or elevation by the governor to a formal Supreme Court seat. The center cited examples of what it described as erratic decision-making as well as the judge lashing out at defense attorneys, prosecutors and defendants."

"The judge hasn't returned multiple calls to his chambers to ask if he plans to seek reappointment through the mayor, and to ask him to address the concerns in the letter. It's also unclear if he's eligible: Public records indicate Fabrizio is 69, which means he may reach mandatory retirement this year. But if Hochul nominates Fabrizio to the Supreme Court, he would be eligible to serve up to an additional six years past that court's retirement age of 70."

Prosecutors and defense attorneys in the Bronx have filed complaints for more than 15 years describing Judge Ralph Fabrizio as volatile, abusive, and unfit, yet he has not faced public discipline. A reform group urged Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul to deny his reappointment or elevation, citing appellate reversals, formal complaints, and reported courtroom clashes. The compiled record includes examples of erratic decision-making and the judge lashing out at attorneys and defendants. Fabrizio has served on New York City Criminal Court since 2001 and as an acting Supreme Court justice in the Bronx for over a decade. Public records show he is 69, which may affect eligibility, though a gubernatorial nomination could extend his service up to six years past the usual retirement age.

Read at Gothamist