Hon. John M.Leventhal 
On January 25, 2008, John M. Leventhal was appointed by Governor Eliot Spitzer as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department to hear civil and criminal appeals. Justice Leventhal was first elected to the Supreme Court, Second Judicial District in November 1994 and re-elected in 2008. From June 1996 to January 2008, Justice Leventhal presided over the nation’s first felony Domestic Violence Court. The “DV Court” was cited for its practices at the Northeast States Domestic Violence Registry Conference in November 1997 and has been observed by jurists and court administrators from New York and other states as well as from other countries. From 2001 to January, 2008, Justice Leventhal also presided over a guardianship part for alleged incapacitated persons. This assignment required the supervision of the management of assets, medical malpractice and personal injury awards as well as other economic issues concerning incapacitated individuals.

Prior to his election to the bench, Justice Leventhal was in private practice from 1982 until 1994 specializing in criminal and civil litigation and appeals. Justice Leventhal is a frequent lecturer on evidence, domestic violence, elder abuse, guardianship and other topics before Bar Associations, law schools, civic groups, court administrators and governmental agencies. In 2009, he was given the Brooklyn Law School Alumni of the Year Award. In 2008, he received the Distinguished Achievement Medal from the New York State Free and Accepted Masons, the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association Beatrice M. Judge Recognition Award “for outstanding service to the women of the Bar, to the community and the law” and the New York Board of Rabbis and Dayenu Voices of Valor “Elijah Award” for male leadership in ending Domestic Violence and the National College of District Attorneys’ Stephen L. Von Riesen Lecturer of Merit Award “in recognition of exceptional service in the continuing professional education of all individuals who work on behalf of domestic violence survivors, their families and our communities.” In 2005, Justice Leventhal received a Special Commendation from the U.S. Department of Justice “in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the prevention of violence against women . . . and for his groundbreaking work and leadership on the role of judicial reviews in the supervision and accountability of domestic violence offenders.” In 2003, he was a recipient of the Ruth Moscowitz Gender Fairness Award presented by the Second Judicial District. In 2001, he was recognized by the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association “for his continuous support of and commitment to women in law and society.” In 2000, he received the Fordham University School of Law’s “In The Trenches” award for his work in the Domestic Violence Court. Justice Leventhal authored sixteen articles relating to criminal and civil law. He has written a book entitled Full Order of Protection that has not yet been published. His work as a judge dealing with DV cases has been featured in a number of newspaper and magazine articles including a profile in “Public Lives” of the New York Times on April 25, 2001.

Justice Leventhal was the Editor in Chief of the Barrister, the legal quarterly publication of the Brooklyn Bar Association (1982 - 1994), Veritas, the legal publication of the Brooklyn Law School Alumni Association (1982 - 1984), as well as a Trustee of the Brooklyn Bar Association (1987 - 1994) and a Director of the Brooklyn Law School Alumni Association (1983 - 2004). He has a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, an M.S. from Hunter College (CUNY) and a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University.
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