Judge Jeremy S. Weinstein, a long-serving administrative judge known for bringing new efficiencies to the Queens County Supreme Court civil dockets, will retire Aug. 30, the state courts announced Monday.

Weinstein, who was appointed to the position in 2007, is credited with reducing civil backlogs in Queens County, which has fared better than most jurisdictions in the state at eliminating delays and streamlining its operations.

Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks said Monday that Weinstein had been instrumental throughout his tenure in bringing trial-ready cases to a close, either through settlements or by sending them to trial as quickly as possible.

“I am immensely grateful to Judge Weinstein for his longstanding service to the county's judicial bench and vital contributions as administrative judge, including his role in the implementation of case management strategies and other reforms that have significantly improved the delivery of civil justice in the borough,” Marks said in a statement.

Reached by phone Monday, Marks added: “His stewardship of Queens Supreme Court has produced real success, as demonstrated by the minimal delays and minimal backlogs in the court's caseload.”

Weinstein, a New York City native and graduate of Brooklyn Law School, was admitted to the New York State Bar in March 1975. Prior to his time on the bench, Weinstein served 14 years in the New York State Senate, sitting on the Senate's Judiciary Committee and Crime and Corrections Committee. He has also worked as a deputy assistant attorney general and associate counsel to the speaker of the New York State Assembly.

Weinstein was elected to the New York City Civil Court in 1993, and was appointed less than four years later to serve as an acting Supreme Court justice and the supervising judge of the Queens Civil Court. He was elected as a Supreme Court judge in 1999 and became administrative judge of the Queens County Supreme Court Civil Term in 2007.

“It was a full day's work,” Weinstein said of his days serving as an administrative and supervising judge. “I just tried to move these cases along.”

Weinstein said he had taken seriously Chief Judge Janet DiFiore's calls to cut backlogs across the state and tried to “create a culture” where parties knew to either settle their disputes or bring them to trial in a timely manner.

“We want them to try their cases,” he said. “But we weren't going to adjourn them forever.”

Under Weinstein's watch, the court added two matrimonial judges and increased the number of guardianship judges. He also implemented new training for medical malpractice cases and launched three alternative dispute resolution programs for matrimonial cases, attorney-client disputes and commercial litigation.

“I tried to be a little bit ahead of the curve,” he said.

Weinstein said that he plans to join a mediation firm and pursue other interests after retiring, but declined to comment further on his plans.

Marks said he and George J. Silver, deputy chief administrative judge for the New York City courts, would begin the process of finding Weinstein's replacement in the fall. Until then, Silver would take over in a temporary capacity, Marks said.

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