Assistant district attorney appointed City Court judge by Rochester mayor

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Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Constance Patterson has been appointed City Court Judge by Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Teresa Johnson.

Under the New York Uniform City Court Act, the mayor may appoint a judge when a vacancy occurs on the court.

“The appointment of Constance Patterson to complete Judge Teresa Johnson’s term reflects the will of the people of Rochester, as she received the highest (number of) votes in the primary election in June,” Evans said in a news release.

Evans added that Patterson’s experience on both a prosecutor and defense attorney “makes her a qualified addition to the Rochester City Court bench.”

Patterson will complete Johnson’s term, which ends on Dec. 31.

“I want to thank Judge Johnson for her 32 years of service on the City Court and wish her well in her much-deserved retirement,” Evans said. “Judge Johnson is a trailblazer who was the first Black female elected to this critically important bench and upheld the law as an instrument of equitable protection rather than discriminant punishment.”

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