Justices of the Court

Associate Justice Tanya R. Kennedy

Hon. Tanya R. Kennedy was appointed in July 2020 as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. Prior to her appointment, Justice Kennedy served as a Justice of the Supreme Court, New York County, commencing in January 2016, after election in November 2015. She was elected to Civil Court in November 2005 and thereafter served in Criminal Court, Civil Court, Family Court, as Acting Supreme Court Justice, and as Supervising Judge of Civil Court, New York County. She is also a former Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law, where she taught a Juvenile Justice seminar for ten years.

Justice Kennedy is a member of the Board of Directors of the New York City Bar Association and past chair of the organization's Special Committee to Encourage Judicial Service. She is also an Executive Committee member of the Women in Law Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA); Secretary of NYSBA's Judicial Section; member of the Board of Overseers of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she received her law degree; and an Advisory Board Member of Penn State Law. Justice Kennedy is also a former member of the Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions of the Association of Supreme Court Justices of the State of New York and a Past President of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ).

A frequent speaker at various conferences, she has received numerous professional awards, including the 2022 Award of Recognition from the New York Women’s Bar Association; the 2022 Champion for Justice Award from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Justice; the 2021 Distinguished Alumna Award from Penn State University; the 2021 NYSBA John E. Higgins, Esq. Diversity Trailblazer Award; the 2020 Inspiration Award from the New York Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law; the 2017 Diversity Leadership Award from Penn State Law; and the 2015 Alumni of the Year Award from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Justice Kennedy is a life member of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association and a former board member of the Association.