A longtime local NY State Supreme Court Justice has announced he will retire this year.
Craig Doran, a judge in the 7th Judicial District which includes several counties including Monroe, Livingston, Wayne and Ontario, was appointed in 2011. Prior to Doran’s election in 2015, he served as an Ontario County Court Judge, and prior to that time, he served in the New York State Assembly.
Doran said that he will step down from the bench in February and in March, he will join the trucking and transportation company Leonard’s Express as General Counsel.
In his statement, Doran thanked “all who have made the last three decades of serving the public extraordinarily rewarding,” and stated that he was extremely grateful for the support of family and friends “who have been by my side in good times and through challenging times.”
Doran was the administrative judge for the 7th Judicial District for a decade before stepping down from that post in 2021. That happened after he announced he was leaving the administrative position in light of a photo of him masquerading as what he termed “a well-known public figure of color” at a Halloween party in 1988.
Doran apologized for his behavior and said at the time that he was leaving the administrative job with the state’s chief judge’s “zero tolerance policy on matters of racial bias and insensitivity.”
During that time, Doran got support from organizations including the Rochester Black Bar Association which said the organization was “disappointed” in Doran’s racially insensitive behavior but added that it had worked with him on numerous initiatives to address racial inequities in the court system.
And the late Rev. Lewis Stewart, who at the time of the revelation about Doran headed up the United Christian Leadership Ministry, said that he had worked with Doran on what he called “systemic change” around implicit bias in the court system.
An official with JustCause, which provides free legal services to impoverished residents, said that Doran has created opportunities for diverse voices to help reform the justice system.
On Friday, Doran told WXXI News that he has worked during his time on the bench to reach out to marginalized communities.
“I certainly feel as though there is a closer relationship between many of the segments of our community that are underserved or that don't trust us as much as we would like them to," Doran said. "I feel as though those ties are a little stronger than they were before.”
If he had decided not to retire, Doran would have remained on the bench through 2029.
This story includes reporting from former WXXI editor and reporter, David Andreatta.
