Chief Judge DiFiore. Photo: David Handschuh/NYLJ

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore will be the first judge later this year to receive the Columbia Business School’s Deming Cup, an award usually reserved for leaders in the private sector, the state Office of Court Administration said Monday.

DiFiore will be presented with the award in October for her work on the Excellence Initiative, a program she created in 2016 to reduce backlog in state courts.

On top of being the first-ever judge to be named for the award, she’ll also be the first government official to receive it since it was created in 2010. Past recipients have been exclusively from the private sector, including leaders from companies like Macy’s, IBM, and Ecolab.

DiFiore accepted the award in a statement Monday on behalf of the state’s entire court system, which has seen significant progress under the Excellence Initiative in recent years thanks to participation from judges and court employees across New York. 

“It is a great honor to be chosen for this prestigious award,” DiFiore said. “I proudly accept this honor on behalf of the entire New York State court system—its judges, judicial and non-judicial managers and 15,000-strong workforce.” 

The court system’s track record in reducing backlog since the start of the Excellence Initiative speaks for itself. The number of felony cases pending outside New York City, as of July, had decreased by 71% over standards and goals since DiFiore became chief judge, for example. The backlog of misdemeanors within New York City had been cut almost in half.

State court officials in New York, including administrative judges and others, have largely attributed that success to the Excellence Initiative. DiFiore and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks have used data and local management by administrative judges to hold judicial officers accountable to the program.

The initiative has continued to be a top priority for DiFiore. She’s proceeded to roll out initiatives designed to further reduce backlog, like a new mandate to be implemented later this year that will require presumptive mediation for most civil litigation.

Nelson Fraiman, director of the Deming Center for Quality, Productivity, and Competitiveness, said this year’s recipients were recognized for “creating efficiency-fueled, employee-empowered, and excellence-oriented establishments.”

“Driven by the ethos of continuous improvement, these diverse organizations are poised for long-term success, demonstrating the growing relevance of W. Edwards Deming’s principles across the private and public sectors,” Fraiman said.

The award will also be given, this year, to United Parcel Service Chairman and CEO David Abney and executive chairman of Best Buy Hubert Joly. 

The award was inspired a decade ago by W. Edwards Deming, an American academic who largely focused his work on operational improvement and excellence. Recipients of the award are chosen by a 41-member judging committee co-chaired by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano, and former Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren.

DiFiore said receiving the award alongside leaders in the private sector shows that progress can be made regardless of what profession, or industry, an individual decides to enter. 

“To receive this award along with leaders of some of our nation’s major business corporations demonstrates that sound management practices and intensive focus on productivity and efficiency can lead to excellence and the highest level of service not only in private sector companies but in government organizations as well,” DiFiore said.

DiFiore was first appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to became the state’s chief judge in 2016, after which she started the Excellence Initiative to address the evergreen problem of backlog in the state’s courts. That initiative has largely been focused on criminal cases, though the state court system has worked to make civil litigation more efficient as well.

The award is scheduled to be presented by the Deming Center on Oct. 22 at Columbia University’s Low Rotunda.

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