Eileen Bransten
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Eileen Bransten | |
|---|---|
| Justice, New York Supreme Court, Manhattan | |
| In office 1996–2018 | |
| Judge, New York Civil Court | |
| In office 1994–1999 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 11, 1942 |
| Died | April 26, 2022 (aged 79) New York |
| Parent(s) | Ruth McKenney, Richard Bransten |
| Education | Hunter College (summa cum laude 1975), Fordham School of Law (1979) |
Eileen Bransten (December 11, 1942 – April 26, 2022) was an American judge who served in New York's state courts for nearly 25 years, including from 2008 to 2018 in Manhattan's Commercial Division, its specialized business court. She was the daughter of author Ruth McKenney and writer and editor Richard Bransten.
Bransten was the daughter of author Ruth McKenney and writer and editor Richard Bransten, and the niece of Eileen McKenney (an executive assistant to Walt Disney) and her husband, author Nathanael West. Bransten was born on December 11, 1942, two years after her aunt and uncle died in an automobile accident. McKenney actively discouraged Bransten from attending college, believing that Bransten could learn all she needed to know by reading books. Bransten ultimately attended Hunter College at age 28, graduating summa cum laude in 1975, and received her law degree from Fordham University Law School in 1979.[1][2][3][4]
Bransten had a wide range of experience before attending college, often involving politics. From 1965 to 1969, she directed research for political campaigns, and in 1967 served as a senior research analyst for the Style and Arrangement Committee of the New York State Constitutional Convention. From 1970 to 1973, she was director of research and public relations for the New York State Senate Minority and also did research and writing for the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council of the New York City Mayor's Office. In 1967 and 1968 she was also a correspondent for the New York Law Journal.[5][6]
Legal career
From 1979 to 1984, Bransten served in the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, and after that was in the private practice of law as a solo practitioner for seven years.[1] In 1992, she became the Principal Court Attorney and Law Secretary to Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline W. Silbermann, who was also Administrative Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York (the New York Civil Court).[1]