Articles

Profile of the Hon. Joan O'Dwyer

By Michael Goldsmith

Judicial Hearing Officer Joan O'Dwyer is one of Queens County's most accomplished and longest serving jurists. She also boasts a lineage as distinguished as any whoever sat on the bench.

Judge O'Dwyer was born in the Bronx. Her uncle, Paul O'Dwyer, served as President of the City Council. Her uncle, William O'Dwyer, was elected Mayor of the City of New York, and later served as Ambassador to Mexico.

It was only natural that young Joan O'Dwyer would gravitate towards the practice of law, as it was the family business. "I grew up with lawyers all around. I decided at age seven to become a lawyer," recalled the Judge.

Judge O'Dwyer received her B.A. from Beaver College, cum laude, in 1947, and graduated Columbia Law School three years later. "There were only 12 females in my law school class of 200 students," said the Judge. For the next nine years, Judge O'Dwyer worked as an associate attorney and office manager at O'Dwyer and Bernstein, her Uncle Paul's law firm. She engaged primarily in civil practice.

In 1959, the young attorney was appointed Magistrate, a position which eventually evolved into Criminal Court Judge. "When I was appointed, there was only one other woman judge in Queens County, and she sat in the Family Court," recalled the Judge.

Judge O'Dwyer presided over a very busy court. "For many of the years during Judge O'Dwyer's tenure in the Criminal Court, she presided over more jury trials than all of the Criminal Court Judges in all of the boroughs of New York City combined," according to Judge O'Dwyer's Law Secretary, M.J. Mezzina ("M.J."). "Judge O'Dwyer was the teething ring for the entire Queens Bar. Young A.D.A.'s and Legal Aid attorneys got there initial trial experience in Judge O'Dwyer's part," said "M.J."

The young Judge's first experience on the bench was sitting in a little Magistrate's Court in Rockaway. In those days, there were no homeless shelters, and the police would lock up derelicts. Judge O'Dwyer would ask the defendants how long they wanted, and would often hear, "Ten days because it's cold." Some of the older guys would remember my uncle," recalled the Judge. "They would tell me, "He would give me as much time as I wanted too."" The Judge also recalled some of her more intoxicated customers greeting her with "Hi, Sweetie!"

Judge O'Dwyer also served three months in Family Court and approximately eight months in Civil Court. It was in Civil Court that she gained her experience in presiding over jury trials, as misdemeanor cases were not tried before juries until the early 1970's.

Judge O'Dwyer served in Criminal Court until 1980, when she was appointed to the position of Acting Supreme Court Justice. In 1985, Judge O'Dwyer was appointed by Governor Mario Cuomo to sit on the New York State Court of Claims. For a time, the Judge was the longest serving, senior Judge in New York City. Her automobile license plate read, "J NY 1."

Judge O'Dwyer retired from the bench at the end of 1996. "When Judge O'Dwyer retired, the Elks had a dinner to honor her. There was a huge turnout," recalled "M.J." "Everyone from Long Island City attended. She was also the first female honored by the Elks."

Judge O'Dwyer currently serves Queens County as a Judicial Hearing Officer. She still handles a huge volume of cases. In 1997, she presided over 220 pre-trial suppression hearings.

As one would expect from such a lengthy career, Judge O'Dwyer had many interesting and publicized cases before her. Several years ago, she presided over the St. John's Lacrosse case, in which several members of a University athletic team were accused of sexually assaulting a female student. That case received much air time in the media, prompting a national discussion on acquaintance rape, and the privileged treatment of collegiate athletes.

Judge O'Dwyer presided over a case which had a made for TV twist to it. Kermit Buford, who was later convicted of the murder, placed the body of his victim in a trunk, which he then dumped in a river. When the trunk surfaced, the police officer at the identified the body as that of his own brother-in-law.

Looking back over her nearly 40 years on the bench, Judge O'Dwyer saw some significant changes. "Queens was like a little country town," reminisced the Judge. There were not many Supreme Court Justices."

"Society was also much different," continued the Judge. "Women could be excused from sitting on a criminal jury solely on the basis of their gender. Consequently, there were few women criminal jurors. This did not change until the mid 1970's, and even then, we had to build up a pool of women jurors. For about a month, we had to get defendants to consent to be tried by an all male jury."

Judge O'Dwyer, on the whole, would rather talk about her family than her career. Her son Shane O'Neill is a partner in a Manhattan law firm. He has one son, and another baby due in June. Her son Liam O'Neill, a college professor, holds two masters degrees, and has a Ph.D. in Operations Management. His wife also holds a doctorate, in Civil Engineering. The Judge's daughter, Kelly O'Neill, is a court attorney for the Hon. J.S. Heitler, an acting Supreme Court Judge in Manhattan. Many of the readers in Queens know the Judge's noted husband, Hon. Anthony Savarese, who served as a Criminal Court and acting Supreme Court Judge, and currently is a Judicial Hearing Officer.

Judge O'Dwyer is also active in legal and community organizations. She was President of the Women's Bar Association in the Bronx. She is a member of the Brehorn Law Society, and the Elks. She was also named "Irish Mother of the Year."

The Judge's hobbies include reading, dining out and attending the theater. She also enjoys travelling, having gone on a safari in Africa, an Alaskan cruise and a carriage ride through Bavarian. She has also driven through the Moroccan desert, and boated down the Danube, as well as visited Australia and New Zealand.

Looking back at her career, the Judge said, "The people of Queens have been nice. I can't complain. The lawyers in Queens County are great. I have also had a nice response from jurors."

"The people of Queens are lucky to have her," exclaimed "M.J." "She is the best judge ever."

Make sure you attribute "M.J." with that quote," chuckled the Judge modestly.