Locals making a difference: For Riverhead native serving as district court judge, bench is another way to help others

Riverhead native Chris Ann Kelley is now a Suffolk County District Court judge specializing in domestic violence and abuse cases.

Judge Chris Ann Kelley, a Riverhead native and fourth-generation East Ender, has served in just about every capacity in Suffolk’s criminal justice system. Before taking the bench, Kelly was a prosecutor, law clerk, a defense attorney and a law guardian representing children — work that earned her an award for outstanding service.

Now a Port Jefferson resident, Kelley in 2007 became the first Democrat elected district court judge in Brookhaven in 31 years.

Kelley, 55, attended St. John’s grammar school and Mercy High School in Riverhead, then earned a B.A. in English from Stony Brook University in 1981. She went on to Western New England School of Law and also studied international human rights in Dublin, Ireland. After law school graduation, she returned to Suffolk County to begin her public service career as an assistant district attorney. Kelley entered private practice in 1988, and in 2002 became a court attorney-referee in the New York State Supreme Court.

Upon election to the district court bench in 2007, Kelley was assigned to a criminal part where she handled a calendar of misdemeanor, vehicle, traffic and environmental crime cases.

In 2012 she was appointed as an acting county court judge, assigned to a specialized domestic section, where she has heard both felony and misdemeanor crimes of violence between family members and intimate partners.

As someone who has spent nearly 30 years serving the people of Suffolk County in the legal arena, Kelley said she hopes the public understands the importance of re-electing experienced judges with good reputations.

“I hope they understand that they would be losing something if judges like that are not re-elected,” Kelley said. She stands for re-election herself this November.

Kelley said her initial desire to become a judge evolved over time and grew from her belief that she had enough experience, knowledge, compassion and understanding to make a difference as a judge.

“I love what I do because it gives me the opportunity to utilize all my life experiences, my experience as a lawyer and my knowledge of the law to help others, to serve the public well. I know what it’s like to be a prosecutor, a defense attorney, a law clerk. I understand the concerns and goals of each participant in the equation and think I can meaningful and creatively serve the public interest well as a judge.”

To Kelley, knowing the letter of the law is not all that is needed to be a good and fair judge.

“It’s more than that,” she said. “Experience and training are necessary to allow us to impose meaningful sentences. Sometimes that means rehabilitation and avoiding incarceration and something that means making the tough decision to incarcerate someone. Knowing how to discern the difference between those two is something you acquire over time.”

[Local friends of the judge are hosting a campaign fundraiser for her this week at the Dark Horse Restaurant in Riverhead on Thursday, April 11, 6-8 p.m. Details here.]

Locals making a difference is an occasional series highlighting local people doing good and serving others in Riverhead and beyond.