Samuel Leibowitz - Judicial Career

Judicial Career

During the 1940s, he was appointed to serve a 14-year term as a Justice of the Kings County Court, then the principal trial court for criminal matters in Brooklyn. After briefly considering a third-party nomination for Mayor of New York City, Leibowitz was reelected to his judgeship in 1954. When the County Courts in New York City were merged into the New York State Supreme Court in 1962 as part of a court reorganization in 1962, Leibowitz's title changed to New York State Supreme Court Justice. Over the years, Leibowitz heard a number of cases concerning gang activity and organized crime. He also presided over the criminal trial of Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher for assaulting a fan at Ebbets Field in 1945.

Liebowitz developed a reputation as both a tough judge and a "hanging judge." A staunch advocate of the death penalty, he publicly advocated its retention as a deterrent.

During Leibowitz's judicial career, his national fame increased in 1950, when he was the subject of an admiring biography by journalist Quentin Reynolds. He was also criticized, however, for alleged lapses in judicial temperament such as losing his temper with litigants and witnesses in his court. When Leibowitz reached age 70, at which time he was subject to mandatory retirement unless a board of his fellow judges certified him as fit for continued service, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York controversially opposed his redesignation to the bench. Leibowitz was eventually reappointed, however, and served until 1969 when he reached the final mandatory retirement age of 76.