Judge Margarita Lopez Torres Reclaims BK Surrogate Court Seat

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Brooklynites reelected their surrogate court judge and elected two new judges to reign in Kings County's civil courts Tuesday night.

Margarita Lopez Torres easily reclaimed her position in Kings County Surrogate’s Court with about 53 percent of the vote during the elections in Brooklyn, Board of Elections finding show.

Lopez Torres ran for reelection after serving one 14-year term in the court and about 13 years in New York's civil courts.

The 68-year-old judge rand and won despite the fact that she will be forced to give up her seat in two years when she turns 70, the mandatory retirement age for New York judges.

Voters also elected D. Bernadette Neckles, who won with about 72 percent of the vote, to represent Brooklyn in New York City's civil courts and Caroline Cohen, who took about 43 percent, to serve in the 6th Municipal District Civil Court, BOE records show.

Cohen, of Flatbush, will serve in the the municipal district which covers parts of Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Flatbush, Kensington, and Midwood.

She was formerly a senior associate the feminist law firm Crumiller P.C., which specializes in gender discrimination.

Neckles will serve in a civil court, which handles lawsuits involving monetary claims for damages up to $25,000, for the next 10 years.

Neckles has served as a court attorney, a legal advisor to a supreme court justice and administrative judge in Kings County Courts since 2001.