Latwin Retiring; Livingston to be First Full Time Female City Court Judge

With Judge Joseph Latwin retiring at the end of the year, Valerie Livingston will become the first full time female City Court Judge in the City of Rye on January 1st, 2023. Judge Livingston has served in the role on a part-time basis for the last two years.

Livingston’s appointment for a ten-year term was made by the Mayor and approved by the City Council last Wednesday. All present council members voted in favor of the appointment. Emily Hurd and Carolina Johnson were absent.

“I feel so fortunate to follow in the footsteps of the many judges that preceded me, particularly Judge Latwin, who has been a kind and wise mentor,” said Livingston when she addressed City Council. “Thank you for your confidence in me to deliver justice the way the citizens of Rye and all those who come before the court deserve – that’s fairly, compassionately and competently.”

Livingston and her husband Ted have lived in Rye since 1992. They raised three children, Chris, Catherine, and Andrew, all graduates of Rye schools. She graduated from Dickinson College with a BA in French before earning her law degree from Pace University School of Law where she graduated cum laude and was a Casenote & Comment Editor for the Pace Law Review.

From 1988 until 2019 Ms. Livingston was an Assistant District Attorney in the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. During her 30 plus years with the DA’s office, she spent most of her career as an appellate specialist in the Appeals & Special Litigation Division where she was promoted to Deputy Bureau Chief. As an appellate attorney, she prosecuted hundreds of criminal cases, including murders, rapes, kidnappings, robberies, narcotics in all the appellate courts in the State of New York as well as handling federal writs of habeas corpus in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York and on appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

(VIDEO: Watch the appointment of Rye City Court Judge Valerie A. Livingston at City Council on November 30, 2022.)

Additionally, Ms. Livingston was assigned to the Frauds Bureau where she prosecuted White Collar crime. For nearly 10 years, she also served as the Rye Branch Chief where she handled thousands of DWIs, misdemeanor and felony cases in the towns and villages in the Sound Shore area where she was of invaluable assistance guiding 10 different police departments within that geographic area.

She is admitted to the New York State Bar, United States District Court, Southern District of New York, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. She is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Irish Law Society.