Dorothy Chin Brandt, Trailblazing Asian American Judge, Dies at 78

Dorothy Chin Brandt, a lawyer who in 1987 became the first female Asian American judge in New York State — and, as such, one of the first two Asian Americans in the state elected to public office — died on Jan.27 in Queens.

She was 78.The cause of her death, in a hospital, was complications of sepsis, her partner, Jack Macco, said.The couple had planned to marry after she recovered.In 1986, as a lawyer in private practice without a political base, Justice Chin Brandt lost a Civil Court race in Manhattan by 138 votes out of about 100,000 cast.The next year, she won the Democratic primary and the general election, blazing a trail for other Asian Americans to be elected to the New York State Legislature; to represent the state in Congress; and to hold office in New York City, including on the City Council.Less than four decades ago, though, her election was groundbreaking.

At the time, there were two Asian American judges in the state, both appointed rather than elected.One of them, Judge Peter Tom of Housing Court, who was born in China, was also elected to the Civil Court in 1987.

(In 1994, he became the first Asian American appointed to the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.He retired in 2019.)“I show up in the clerk’s office, and they thought I was the interpreter, because of course I couldn’t be the judge,” Justice Chin Brandt recalled of her first day on the bench in a 2016 interview.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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