Hon. Edwina G. Richardson-Mendelson
Deputy Chief Administrative Judge
Office for Justice Initiatives
In 2017, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Edwina Richardson-Mendelson was appointed to head the New York State Unified Court System’s Office for Justice Initiatives, tasked with ensuring meaningful access to justice for all New Yorkers in civil, criminal, and family courts, regardless of income, background, or ability. To serve this mission, the Office for Justice Initiatives administers Help Centers, pro bono attorney and other volunteer programs, self-help services, and many other resources designed to serve unrepresented court users, including resources to assist those navigating virtual court operations.
Additionally, Judge Richardson-Mendelson leads the Equal Justice in Courts Initiative, implementing the recommendations contained in Special Adviser on Equal Justice Jeh Johnson's October 2020 report examining racial bias in the state court system, as well as the November 2020 recommendations made by the New York State Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts to enhance gender fairness in the New York State courts.
Judge Richardson-Mendelson also directs several juvenile and family justice initiatives, including the New York State Unified Court System’s Child Welfare Court Improvement Project and the ongoing implementation of the seminal law raising the age of criminal responsibility in New York State. Additionally, she oversees the state’s more than 300 problem-solving and accountability courts, including groundbreaking opioid courts, drug courts/judicial diversion parts, veterans’ treatment courts, mental health courts, human trafficking intervention courts, domestic violence courts, integrated domestic violence courts, young adult parts, juvenile treatment courts, community courts, and impaired driving courts. Each model court has the advantage of specially trained judges and staff, dedicated dockets, intensive judicial monitoring, and coordination with outside services and agencies.
Judge Richardson-Mendelson was appointed to the Court of Claims in 2017 and remains active on that bench, while also serving in the Supreme Court Criminal Term, New York County. Previously, she presided over New York County Supreme Court’s Youth Part, hearing cases of youth criminally charged as adults.
Judge Richardson-Mendelson first joined the court system as a Court Attorney-Referee in Queens County Family Court, after representing clients in New York City Housing Court, Family Court, and Supreme Court. She later became a Family Court Judge in 2003, the Queens County Supervising Family Court Judge in 2008, and a year later, was elevated to Administrative Judge of all New York City Family Courts.
Judge Richardson-Mendelson first joined the court system as a Court Attorney-Referee in Queens County Family Court, after representing clients in New York City Housing Court, Family Court, and Supreme Court. She later became a Family Court Judge in 2003, the Queens County Supervising Family Court Judge in 2008, and a year later, was elevated to Administrative Judge of all New York City Family Courts.
Judge Richardson-Mendelson is a graduate of CUNY Law School, whose motto is “Law in the Service of Human Needs”. She also holds a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the City University of New York Graduate Center and has been an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Hofstra Law School.
She maintains active membership and leadership positions in New York bar associations and serves on several court committees which advance both professional development and system improvement in the delivery and quality of justice services, including the Commission to Reimagine the Future of New York's Courts and its Pandemic Practices Working Group. She also lectures across the state and country on New York’s nation leading access to equal justice practices and protocols.