Caribbean-American judges honor Trinidadian jurist Wavny Toussaint

In a surprise move, Caribbean-American judges at Kings County Courts on Friday honored distinguished Trinidadian-born Justice Wavny Toussaint in a ceremony commemorating Caribbean-American Heritage Month at Kings County Supreme Court, Criminal Term, downtown Brooklyn.

In introducing Justice Toussaint to a packed Central Jury Room, at the 5th Annual Caribbean-American Heritage Month celebration, Haitian-American lawyer Natasha Delille, a court attorney at the Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Term, noted that Justice Toussaint is “the first woman and first woman of color” to be appointed as the Presiding Justice of the Appellate Term of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, 2nd, 11th and 13th Judicial Districts.

Natasha Delille, Esq. (left) presents an award to Justice Wavny Toussaint. Photo by Nelson A. King

Justice Toussaint’s appointment was made on Jan. 1, 2023. In January 2020, she initially began service as an Associate Justice of the Court, which covers Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island; and hears appeals from the New York City Criminal and Civil Courts, including its Housing and Small Claims Parts.

Justice Toussaint, simultaneously, serves as an elected Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Kings County Civil Term, where she presides over trials, while managing a general Individual Assignment Part.

She previously served in the New York City Civil and Criminal Courts, as well as the New York State Family Court.

On her initial election in 2002 to the New York City Civil Court, Kings County, Justice Toussaint became the first Trinbagonian-American to be elected a judge in New York State. Trinbagonian is short for a native of the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

“It’s good when you’re recognized by your peers,” said Justice Toussaint in her acceptance speech during the ceremony, which comprised Kings County judges and lawyers, as well as Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez; Trinidad and Tobago Consul General to New York Andre Laveau; and President of Howard University, Trinidadian Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick, who delivered the keynote address.

“God is good,” added Justice Toussaint, a board member of Reimagine Church of the Nazarene, Inc. “God is good to me. I’m truly, truly blessed; and, when you’re blessed, you’re supposed to share your blessings.”

Charles Small, Esq., chief clerk, Supreme Court, Civil Term, gives the invocation.  Photo by Nelson A. King

Justice Toussaint – who was born in Trinidad and Tobago to a Grenadian-born father and Panamanian-born mother, and paternal grandparents were Carib Indians – said she was “honored to receive the honor” from her colleagues in the court system.

“I congratulate our court, which consists of five women, two of whom have Trinidad and Tobago roots,” she said. “We, absolutely, are brilliant, who render justice that’s fair, with compassion.”

Justice Toussaint earned a Bachelor of Arts from the City College of New York, and a Juris Doctor cum laude from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C.

She is admitted to practice law in New York State, the Southern and Eastern Federal District Courts of New York, and the United States Supreme Court.

Before her election to the bench, Justice Toussaint practiced law for 19 years, serving as an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of New York, an associate at a private law firm, managed her own practice, and served in the New York State Unified Court System as a Principal Court Attorney/Law Clerk to four judges.

Justice Toussaint’s professional membership service includes the Board of Directors of the Supreme Court Justices Association of the City of New York; Nominations Committee Chair of The Judicial Friends, Inc.; and past president of the Association of Black Women Attorneys.

Besides being a board member of Reimagine Church of the Nazarene, Inc., Justice Toussaint’s community engagement includes being a member of the global General Board of the Church of the Nazarene, Inc.; past board chairperson of Hope City Empowerment, Inc., a non-profit social service organization, which provided hot meals to the homeless and working poor, in addition to providing activities for seniors; and past board chairperson of Protestant Board of Guardians, Inc., a non-profit agency that provided family preservation and foster care services to Central Brooklyn families.

Justice Toussaint is also the recipient of numerous professional and community awards.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Photo by Nelson A. King 

The event featured brief remarks by Gonzalez, Hon. Edwina Richardson-Mendelson, deputy chief administrative judge for Justice Initiatives; and Hon. Lawrence Knipel, administrative judge, Supreme Court for Civil Matters, 2nd JD.

Hon. Sharon AB Clarke, of the Supreme Court, Civil Term, whose parents hail from Guyana and Barbados, served as Mistress of Ceremonies. She read a poem, “Divorcing The Crown,” which she collaborated on with 13-year-old  Amaryllis Greene, whose mother, Allison Belmosa, is a Trinidadian native.

The poem reads in part: “As I stand before you today, I want to express my condolences with my written verses on the cruelty you endure; yet, your faith you kept in the lord, which made you feel reassured, as the constant flow of your tears poured from all that the mind, body and soul endured.

“Hoping that one-day colonialism would no longer keep you imprisoned, as you closed your eyes and envisioned the day you would not de-conditioned by their cruel Colonial system when fed off its own egotism,” it adds. “The execution of your brutality caused intergenerational casualty, which affected the Caribbean island mentality, created by the tyranny of being oppressed; yet, you will always be remembered for your ravished quest for future generations like me to digest.

“Enslavement will no longer be a choke hold of the Caribbean island souls, which colonization once controlled,” the poem continues. “For we have risen out of their prison with a clearer vision, as CARICOM (Caribbean Community) writes a new chapter, and creates our new mission, we will no longer be shackled, impoverished or exploited, but, full of strength, tenacity and determination, as we create our traditions.”

Poet Amaryllis Greene, 13, with her mom, Allison Belmosa.Photo by Nelson A. King

Ariella Howell, 12, whose tutor is Trinidadian Ricardo Jerome at MS 340 in Brooklyn, played the US National and Black National Anthems on steel pan to wide acclaim; Barbadian-born lawyer Charles Small, chief clerk, Supreme Court, Civil Term, offered the invocation; and Dr. Clinton Crawford, a renowned Guyanese-born Art Professor at Medgar Evers College, City University of New York, displayed his art work, including “Masquerader” (1981) and “Portal to Another Dimension” (2022).

Gonzales, a first-generation Puerto Rican, told the ceremony that “these heritage events are important to develop trust in our legal system.

“Like many of us, we’re aware of the issues in the Caribbean community — from enslavement to colonialism,” he said. “We have a culture from the Caribbean, and we bring it here.”

Hon. Richardson-Mendelson said: “Events like these are critical to promote cultural and educational events.”