Richard I. Horowitz

Hon.

New York Supreme Court, Suffolk County

Richard Horowitz was appointed to the Court of Claims by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2015.  He currently sits as an Acting Supreme Court Justice in the dedicated Guardianship Part of Suffolk County. Judge Horowitz’s prior judicial positions include District Court Judge, Acting County Court Judge and Supervising Judge of the District Court.

He has presided in virtually all of the various civil and criminal parts of the District Court, including the Drug Treatment Court and the Mental Health Court. In 2013 he was tasked with creating and presiding over the Human Trafficking Intervention Court.

Judge Horowitz began his legal career as a public defender at the Legal Aid Society of New York.  He served as a Senior Staff Attorney for nineteen years and specialized in working with defendants living with mental illness and chemical addiction.

During a hiatus from the bench in 2014 and 2015, Richard Horowitz served as the Deputy Bureau Chief of the Special Investigations Bureau of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. His Bureau was responsible for combating gang and gun violence, animal cruelty and human trafficking.

Judge Horowitz enjoys teaching.  He is a Special Professor of Law at Hofstra University School of Law, where he teaches a course, of his own design, entitled Mental Health Issues in the Criminal Justice System. He also serves as guest lecturer at Touro Law Center and at the Suffolk Academy of Law.

He is a graduate of Binghamton University and Hofstra University School of Law.