Administrative Justice Marguerite Grays, Administrative Justice Michelle Johnson, Surrogate Judge Cassandra Johnson, and Supervising Judge Gigi Parris lead four of Queens’ courthouses. Photos via the Unified Court System
By Noah Powelson
Queens finds itself in the middle of a historic period for its courts – for the first time in the borough’s history, over half of the borough’s courts are being led by Black women.
The Queens Supreme Criminal and Civil Courts, as well as Queens Surrogate and Family Courts, are all currently headed by Black women as their respective administrative justice or supervising judge. The moment is a significant one, especially for a borough whose courts historically seen a proportionately high number of Black court users while its benches have been disproportionately unrepresentative.
Queens Supreme Court, Civil Term is led by Administrative Judge Marguerite Grays, while Queens Supreme Court, Criminal Term is led by Administrative Judge Michelle Johnson. Black women also lead the borough’s Surrogate’s Court, where Judge Cassandra Johnson presides, and Queens Family Court, which is supervised by Judge Gigi Parris.
Beyond the top judicial roles, the chief clerk role in Queens Supreme, Criminal, and Supreme Court, Civil are also held by Black women, Sherise Ellison and Tamara Kersh respectively.
Speaking to the Eagle, Michelle Johnson said that her and fellow jurists are aware and understand the significance of their representation on the bench.
“We talk about it all the time,” Michelle Johnson said. “I am beyond honored to be a part of this group. They are the cream of the crop in terms of intelligence and character. Great leaders in all respects, in and out of court.
Michelle Johnson, who began her legal career in 1992, previously served as presiding judge of Queens’ lower Criminal Court and was twice appointed interim administrative judge of Queens Supreme Criminal Court before being named the court’s permanent head in 2024.
She is supported in her work by Ellison, who has acted as the court’s chief clerk since 2024, and is the first woman of color to hold the title for Queens Supreme Court, Criminal Term.
“It’s just a testament to how far we’ve come in America as a people that we could even have the opportunity to have this position,” Michelle Johnson said.
Grays, the administrative judge of Queens Supreme Court, Civil Term, is the first black woman to ever lead the court. She previously served Queens as deputy administrative judge under previous Administrative Judge Jeremy Weinstein.
Grays leads the court alongside Kersh, the chief clerk whose face is well known among all court staff and visitors as she keeps the day-to-day operations of the courts moving.
Cassandra Johnson was elected to be the borough’s surrogate judge in 2024, becoming the first Haitian American to ever hold the title. Cassandra Johnson, no relation to Michelle Johnson, saw a rapid rise through the courts after she was first elected to Civil Court in 2021, and again elected to Supreme Court in 2023. She also worked closely with Grays for many years as a special referee.
“The presence of Black women leading several courts reflects the evolution of our profession and the strength of Queens County. Its significance lies in public confidence — leadership that reflects the community can reinforce trust in the institution,” Cassandra Johnson told the Eagle. “I approach it with a strong sense of responsibility. Judicial leadership is about stewardship of the institution and service to the public. I am mindful of the history that made this moment possible, and equally mindful that our work must remain grounded in independence and fidelity to the rule of law.”
Parris is the most recent addition to the cohort, being named presiding judge of Queens Family Court at the end of the 2025. She had previously served as supervising court attorney in Queens Family Court under Judge Gilbert Taylor and was eventually appointed as an interim New York City Civil Court judge in March 2021.
While these four women took different paths, all found themselves rising to leadership positions at the same time.
Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas told the Eagle in a statement that a diverse bench is critical to delivering justice for Queens and New York
Chief Clerk Tamara Kersh, pictured left, has served as Queens Supreme Civil Court’s Chief Clerk since 2014. Eagle file photo by Andy Katz
“A diverse court system brings together a wide range of professional and personal experiences to the bench, thus strengthening decision-making and promoting fairness,” Zayas said in a statement. “This sort of broad-based judicial diversity also helps ensure that the justice system reflects the communities it serves, interacting with people in the most constructive and meaningful manner while helping to build public confidence and trust.”
Jawan Finley, the long-time president of the Macon B. Allen Black Bar Association, said this historic group of court leaders was not created in one night but was the result of decades of advocacy, mentorship and the work of previous trailblazers who paved the way for this moment to happen.
Finley said it was the work of Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman appointed to the federal judiciary; Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the first black woman appointed to the New York Court of Appeals’ and Fern A. Fisher, the first black woman to serve as the deputy administrative judge for the New York City Courts, who enabled Queens to have this historic group of women.
“These women stand on the shoulders of those who dared to climb towards the ceiling and chip away at its layers at a time when leadership roles in the court were reserved for white men,” Finley said in a statement. “Their hard work and tenacity served as pathways for black women to join the bench in great numbers, step into supervisory, administrative and leadership roles and serve as mentors for the next generation of judges.”
Michelle Johnson, Grays and Cassandra Johnson are all also long-standing members of the Macon B. Allen Black Bar Association. Finley also said that while the work of past trailblazers enabled this moment to happen, the long legal careers and guidance from their fellow jurists gave these four Queens judges the skills, knowledge and perspective needed to guide the courts with professionalism and sensitivity.
“Justices Grays, Justice Johnson, Judge Parris and Surrogate Johnson represent a rebalancing of institutional authority in spaces once defined by exclusion,” Finley said in a statement. “They shape courtroom culture, oversee judicial assignments, manage caseload priority and influence justice… Their presence changes the courtroom tone and restores the communities’ confidence in the justice system.”
While the current makeup of court leaders is a significant step, Queens as a whole has a way to go before judicial diversity is representative of the most diverse county in the country, if not the world.
According to UCS data of self-reported judicial demographics, Queens saw a decrease of Black jurists at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only recently, did the numbers again begin to rise.
In 2020, Queens had 21 Black judges, but the following year, that number dropped down to 13. As of 2025, 18 Black judges sit on the bench across all Queens courts, roughly 20 percent of all state judges in the borough.
In Queens Criminal and Supreme Criminal Court, each have only two Black judges or justices respectively.
In a statement to the Eagle, Zayas said UCS is dedicated to diversifying the bench as well as judicial leadership, especially in Queens.
“While there has been much progress made in recent years to diversify the bench in New York, this progress only underscores the importance of continuing these efforts, to promote a justice-system that effectively solves people’s problems and impacts lives for the better,” Zayas said.
Michelle Johnson said that judicial diversity is not just about creating equal pathways to the bench, but establishing trust and credibility with the communities the courts serve. When a court user sees a judge that looks like them, it helps them feel their case was heard fairly and without prejudice; a sentiment that is especially important now as polling data shows that public confidence in the courts is at historic lows, Johnson said.
“I think that it lends a sense of credibility to the court,” Michelle Johnson said. “Even if they disagree with the outcome of the ruling, to see that the courts are representative of the people they serve, I believe, lends overall credibility to the court’s work.”
“That’s not just Black people, that’s all courts,” she added.
