O

• Author: Elizabeth Smith/Mark Thompson
• Pages: 134-144

OBUS, MICHAEL J.

Acting Justice, First Judicial District

Supreme Court, New York County

Administrative Judge, Criminal Matters,

New York County

Appointment/Election: Acting Supreme

Court Justice, 1993 to present. Appointed to

Criminal Court by Mayor Edward Koch,

1986; reappointed by Mayor Rudolph

Guiliani, 1995; and reappointed by Mayor

Michael Bloomberg, 2005.

Previous Experience: Law Practice: Legal

Aid Society, Nassau County, New York (Chief

of Appeals Bureau, 1979-86), 1973-86.

Admission: Admitted to New York State

Bar, First Dept., March 11, 1974; U.S.

District Court, Eastern District, Jan. 10,

1975; U.S. District Court, Southern District,

Jan. 18, 1983; U.S. Court of Appeals, Second

Circuit, Aug. 23, 1976; U.S. Supreme Court,

June 30, 1980.

Education: J.D., Columbia University

School of Law (1973); B.A., Rutgers

University (1970).

Biographical Data: Born July 23, 1948 in

Philadelphia, PA. Married; two children.

Address: 100 Centre Street, Part 51

New York, NY 10013

Phone: (646) 386-4051

(646) 386-3947 (chambers)

Fax: (212) 401-9264

E-Mail: mobus@courts.state.ny.us

IAS Part Clerk: Isabelle Andresen

Law Clerk: Daniel Rosen, Esq.

Secretary: Angela Paolicelli-Ortiz

O’CONNOR, KIMBERLY

Acting Justice, Third Judicial District

Supreme Court, Albany County

Judge, Court of Claims

Appointment/Election: Appointed to the

Supreme Court in 2006. Appointed to the

Court of Claims by Gov. George Pataki in

2006; term expires in 2014.

Address: Albany County Courthouse

16 Eagle Street, Room 411

Albany, NY 12207

Phone: (518) 285-8597

ATTORNEYS’COMMENTS

TEMPERAMENT/DEMEANOR

Justice O’Connor has “a very nice

demeanor,” one interviewee said. Others

agreed. “She is a nice person. I have nothing

bad to say about her,” said one. “She’s a

great person. She’s great to work with,” said

another. A fourth interviewee called her

“accommodating.” An attorney who resolved

a matter concerning an accounting for a

trust, after meeting with Justice O’Connor in

an informal conference in chambers, added,

“She was very receptive and very nice in all

respects. She told me to submit the trust and

she would consider it, and that’s exactly

what happened.”

ON THE BENCH

Justice O’Connor “is young and she came

to the job with limited experience,” said an

interviewee, who noted that she worked in

state government in the administration of

former Gov. George Pataki before she was

appointed to a position on the Court of

Claims, and then was named Acting

Supreme Court Judge in Albany County.

That attorney added that she has grown into

the job. “She has a very good work ethic, and

in my experience, which is relatively limited, I

would give her positive marks. I think she

has worked pretty hard to learn the job,” the

interviewee said. An attorney who has han-

dled several matrimonial matters in her court

also noted that she “didn’t really do any pri-

vate world stuff” as an attorney. Her experi-

ence as a practicing attorney was limited to a

stint as a prosecutor earlier in her career, the

attorney asserted. However, she acquitted

herself well in the matrimonial cases and has

proven to be “a good choice” for the Albany

County trial bench. Another matrimonial

attorney who litigated a divorce in her court

said her lack of experience led to some laps-

es. “I don’t recall having any difficulty getting

any evidence in. I don’t know if that’s a good

or bad thing for her, but we didn’t have any

trouble with that. But I think sometimes we

may have felt that she let things in that we

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