Michele Titus

Michele R. Titus is an American politician and jurist from Queens, New York who has served as a New York City Civil Court Judge since January 2020. A Democrat, Titus previously represented District 31 in the New York State Assembly from 2002 to 2020.

Michele R. Titus
New York City Civil Court Judge
Assumed office
January 1, 2020
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 31st district
In office
April 22, 2002[1] – January 1, 2020[2][3]
Preceded byPauline Rhodd-Cummings
Succeeded byKhaleel Anderson
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Eric DeBerry[4]
ChildrenTwo[4]
Alma materBinghamton University
Albany Law School
ProfessionPolitician; judge

Biography

Titus is a lifelong resident of Queens and graduated from John Adams High School.[5] She received a B.A. degree in political science from Binghamton University (State University of New York) in 1990.[5][6] Titus earned her law degree from the Albany Law School in 1993[7] and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1994.[5]

Prior to her election to the Assembly, Titus served as Chief of Staff to Senator Ada Smith and a Executive Director for the New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus. She had previously been an attorney for the New York City Board of Education. She has also been, at various times, a member of the staff of the Consumer Frauds Bureau of the New York State Attorney General's Office as well as the Integrity Bureau for the Queens County District Attorney's office.[5]

A Democrat,[8] Titus was first elected to the State Assembly in a special election held on April 16, 2002[5] to replace Assembly member Pauline Rhodd-Cummings, who died while in office. Titus also won the general election that November with 86 percent of the vote.[9] She ran uncontested in the 2008 and 2010 general elections.[10][11] The district comprised Far Rockaway, Rosedale, Laurelton, Springfield Gardens, South Ozone Park and South Richmond Hill. She served on several standing committees, including Children and Families, Codes, Judiciary, Small Business and Local Governments, among others.[5] In 2017, Titus made headlines when she and her husband, Eric DeBerry, sued the state's Unified Court System. The suit alleged that DeBerry had been wrongfully terminated from his job as a court officer; it included a claim that the defendant's actions had affected the couple's sex life.[8][12]

On November 5, 2019, Titus was elected as a New York City Civil Court Judge.[13] She took office in January 2020, stepping down from her Assembly seat.[3][2]

References
  1. Hicks, Jonathan P. (September 7, 2002). "Assemblywoman, in Office Since April, Faces a Tough Queens Field". The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2011. Ms. Titus, 32
  2. Brand, David (2019-11-19). "Richmond Hill town hall highlights lack of South Asians in city and state office". Queens Daily Eagle.
  3. Parrott, Max (2020-01-10). "What you need to know about the race to fill Michele Titus' Assembly seat". QNS.com.
  4. "Assembly Member Michele R. Titus (NY)". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  5. "Michele R. Titus: Biography". New York State Assembly. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  6. "Taking Public Service To Heart". Binghamton Alumni Journal. Winter 2004. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2011. Michele R. Titus '90
  7. "Albany Law Alumni Have Winning Election Season". Albany Law School. November 18, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2011. Michele Titus '93
  8. Fanelli, James (2017-09-04). "Queens assemblywoman sues N.Y. for firing her husband, claims they stopped having sex since he lost his job". Daily News.
  9. "Eye On Albany: New York State Assembly District 31". Gotham Gazette. 2002.
  10. "Election Results 2008: New York State Legislature". The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-05-11.
  11. "Election Results 2010: New York State Legislature". The New York Times. 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-06-15.
  12. "New York lawmaker sues state for ruining her sex life". WGNTV.com. September 5, 2017.
  13. Coltin, Jeff (2019-11-06). "Katz, Williams and the rest of the Democrats win in NYC". City & State NY. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
New York State Assembly
Preceded by
Pauline Rhodd-Cummings		 New York State Assembly, 31st District
2002–present		 Incumbent
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