Biography
Toko Serita was appointed to the NYC bench in 2005 and is an experienced Asian-American problem-solving court judge presiding over a misdemeanor drug treatment and mental health recovery court in Queens County since 2010. She has been a New York State Acting Supreme Court Justice since 2014 and is recognized as a leading judicial expert on human trafficking. The court over which she has presided since 2008, the Queens Human Trafficking Intervention Court (QHTIC), has been nationally and internationally recognized for its groundbreaking work with trafficking survivors and sex workers. That court also served as the model for the establishment of a statewide network of 11 other human trafficking courts created specifically to provide trauma-informed services to this vulnerable and exploited population. In 2022, Judge Serita was appointed as the first Statewide Coordinating Judge for Problem Solving Courts, where she helps oversee the 300+ problem-solving courts throughout the state which include adult drug treatment courts, mental health courts, domestic violence and integrated domestic violence courts, Veterans’ treatment courts, and family treatment courts. Judge Serita works closely with the Division of Policy & Planning, one of several divisions of the Office for Justice Initiatives, led by Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Edwina Richardson-Mendelson. Prior to becoming a judge, Justice Serita worked in the court system from 2000-2005 and was the Executive Assistant to two Administrative Judges of the Supreme Court, Queens County - the late Hon. Steven W. Fisher, and the Hon. Leslie G. Leach. She started her legal career working as an appellate attorney for the Criminal Appeals Bureau, Legal Aid Society for several years before joining the court system in 2000. She is a co-founder and past president of the Asian American Judges Association of New York (AAJANY), the former citywide Chair of the Gender Fairness Committee for NYC Criminal Courts, and a current member of the NYS Women in the Courts Committee, as well as a former member of the Editing Committee of the NYS Criminal Jury Instructions Committee. Judge Serita currently sits on the Board of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). She is a graduate of Vassar College and City University of New York School of Law.