Hon. Reginald Boddie sworn in as New York State Supreme Court justice

January 26, 2017 By Rob Abruzzese, Legal Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Hon. Reginald Boddie is sworn in by Hon. Fern A. Fisher, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge, NYC Courts, as his wife Charisse Boddie looks on. Eagle photos by Mario Belluomo

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Honorable Reginald A. Boddie was sworn in as a justice of the New York state Supreme Court in front of his family, friends and colleagues during a special ceremony at Borough Hall last Thursday night.

“I know you thought this program was all about me — well, yes,” Justice Boddie said. “But for me this day is all about those of you who have helped me get here.”

The ceremony was run by retired Assemblymember Annette Robinson. Borough President Eric Adams and Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte each presented Boddie with citations on behalf of the borough president’s office and the state assembly, respectively.

“I remember a time when we were concerned that there were no black men coming forward to be on the bench, and so Reggie Boddie came forward, Paul Wooten came forward,” Robinson said. “I want to thank them for the leadership they give to us.”

The speakers included Hon. Frank Seddio, president of the Brooklyn Bar Association and chairman of the Kings County Democratic Committee; Hon. Paul Wooten, former councilmember; Dr. Una S.T. Clarke; Assemblymember Walter Mosley; District Leader Olanike Alabi; Gregory Cerchione; and Alan Drezin.

“Justice Boddie’s characteristics include those all judges need — independence, integrity and impartiality,” said Wooten. “He has dog-like persistence, he doesn’t believe in losing. He has the type of personality where if he gets knocked down, he picks himself up. He’s also very community-minded. On behalf of the 2.9 million people in Brooklyn, who by social contract have empowered him to be a judge, I thought that he was the best person for the job.”

Boddie attended Brown University for his undergraduate degree and graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 1984. His legal career started before that working for Rhode Island Legal Services in 1979. He has worked for the Legal Aid Society, Harlem Legal Services, and was Assistant Counsel at the Center for Law and Social Justice of Medgar Evers College. He opened a private practice in 1995 and was elected to the Civil Court in 2009, where he eventually elevated to supervising judge.

“I have been privileged to appear before Judge Boddie as a Civil Court judge, acting Supreme Court justice and as a supervising judge. Those attributes that he developed in private practice have followed him to the bench where he enjoys a well-deserved reputation in our Brooklyn legal community,” said Cerchione, a past president of the Brooklyn Bar Association. “As a gentleman’s judge, with a sound judicial demeanor, calm temperament and keen knowledge of the law. He is known for his deliberate and well-reasoned rulings and decisions.”

Once all the speeches were over, Boddie took to the podium to thank everyone who came and supported him, especially his mother.

“As some of you, I grew up in humble beginnings. I was one of six children raised by a single parent in a federally subsidized public housing project in New Haven, Connecticut,” Boddie said. “I grew up in a neighborhood where few people went to college, and worse, they were not expected to.

“But I’m so glad that I had a determined mother who believed otherwise and instilled in me a thirst for success with her ethos for hard work, compassion and fierce determination,” he continued. “I wish she could see me now.”