New administrative judge of Suffolk County Courts named

Daily Record (Rochester, NY), Nov 26, 2003 by Staff

Judge H. Patrick Leis, III has been named administrative judge of Suffolk County Courts.

Judge Leis was elected to the Supreme Court in 1995 and has handled a variety of cases on that bench, including matrimonial and guardianship cases. Currently, he is the presiding justice of the Suffolk County Integrated Domestic Violence Court, a court that handles many legal issues - criminal, family and matrimonial - that arise when domestic violence occurs, as well as serving as the supervising judge of the Supreme Court Matrimonial Parts for the past three years.

He began his judicial tenure as a family court judge and was later elected to county court, during which time he was appointed an acting State Supreme Court judge. Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Leis was the bureau chief in the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office after serving as a prosecutor in the Kings County District Attorney's Office.

Justice Leis's nearly three-decade career in the law covers an impressive breath of expertise, spanning experience in both criminal and civil arenas, and including service as a judge in three different courts: supreme, family and county courts, said Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman. He has shown himself to be a fair and judicious administrator both as presiding justice of the Suffolk County Integrated Domestic Violence Court and supervising judge of the Supreme Court Matrimonial Parts.

Judge Leis fills a vacancy created by the death of Judge Alan D. Oshrin in August.