Honorable Kathie E. Davidson
Dean of the New York State Judicial Institute

On July 7, 2021 Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks designated Hon. Kathie E. Davidson as Dean of the New York State Judicial Institute, a statewide judicial education and research center focused on the latest developments in the law and other disciplines that influence the law. As Dean, Judge Davidson oversees the creation and delivery of training seminars for newly elected and appointed Unified Court System (UCS) judges, continuing education programs for UCS judges and lawyers, and cooperative education programs with state and federal judicial systems, legal academics and other interested stakeholders.

Since 2018, Judge Davidson had been serving as Administrative Judge for the Ninth Judicial District, which encompasses Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties, and was responsible for implementing and enforcing all policies, rules and directives of the Chief Judge and managing day-to-day administrative support and supervision of all 1150 judicial and nonjudicial staff, trial courts, and agencies within the district.

In 2007, Judge Davidson was appointed as the Supervising Judge of the Family Courts in the Ninth Judicial District, by the then Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman. Judge Davidson was elected as a Family Court Judge in November of 2003, and began her Judicial career presiding over Juvenile Delinquency, PINS, Family Offense Petitions, Custody and Visitation cases, and continued to preside over Abuse and Neglect cases, the Integrated Youth Court other related Family Court matters.

Prior to being elected a Family Court judge, from 1998-2003 Judge Davidson was a Deputy County Attorney with the Westchester County Law Department. Some of her accomplishments were the implementation of the Westchester County Laws §308, The Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise Law. She was a member of the County's first delegation invited to receive training in Hate Crimes, at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, California. Judge Davidson was an attorney for the child with the Juvenile Rights Practice of the Legal Aid Society (formerly known as the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society) in Bronx County. She was an investigative attorney with the New York State Department of Education and private practitioner specializing in Family Law.

The Judge serves as a Commissioner of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission that promotes racial and ethnic fairness in the courts, and as a member of the New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, the Commission on Parental Legal Representation, and the Committee on Families and the Law, in addition to holding membership in numerous professional and volunteer organizations.

Judge Davidson earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, and her Juris Doctor at Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Howard University Alumni Association. Judge Davidson was the first African-American woman appointed as Supervising Judge in the Ninth Judicial District, was the first woman to be appointed Administrative Judge in the Ninth Judicial District, and was the first African-American to be appointed Administrative Judge outside of New York City.