Suffolk Judge Toni A. Bean Dies, Flags Directed To Half-Staff

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone directed flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of Judge Toni A. Bean, whose death was announced Sunday by the Suffolk County Court Employees Association.

Bean was the first African American woman to serve on the Suffolk County District Court. She was currently serving as an acting County Court judge.

“Today we mourn with the family, friends, and loved ones of Judge Toni A. Bean," Bellone stated. "Judge Bean was truly a trailblazer here in Suffolk County. With decades of service on the bench, she was someone of the highest integrity, and her tenacity and dedication to the people of this County was unmatched."

Bean was appointed to the bench in July 2004 by then-Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, according to the Suffolk County Court Employees Association. She won the November election later that year. She won re-election in 2010 and 2016 and has been sitting in District Court ever since.

"She has been an asset to the judicial system and will truly be missed," the court employees association stated.

Bean joined the Harlem law firm of Walker & Bailey, a private practice focused on personal injury litigation, in 1985, kickstarting her legal career, according to Newsday. Bean moved to Waxman and Wincott P.C. of Mineola three years later, where she worked personal injury cases until 2002 when she left to start a private practice in Amityville. She left her private practice in 2004 to become a Suffolk County District Court justice.

She graduated from SUNY Brockport in 1981 with her bachelor's degree and earned her law degree from Howard University School of Law in 1985, according to Newsday. She was admitted to the New York State Bar one year later.