NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Mayor Noam Bramson announced the appointment of Jared R. Rice to the New Rochelle City Court, on Friday, December 13th. Rice, who is completing his last term on the New Rochelle City Council, will assume the full-time judgeship being vacated by retiring Judge Gail B. Rice, the first woman judge in New Rochelle. He will join City Judges Susan I. Kettner and Anthony A. Carbone when he commences a ten-year term on January 1, 2020.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving the public as a judge in the New Rochelle City Court” Jared Rice commented. “At a time when our local courts are undergoing significant change and reform, I am ready to meet the challenge of being a great steward of justice for all court users.”
Rice has been a member of the New Rochelle City Council since 2011 and is currently a partner with his father, J. Roger Rice, in the local law firm Rice & Rice, specializing in criminal defense and civil rights.
As a public defender in the Mount Vernon City Court for more than twelve years, Rice assumed the lead defense role in the Adolescent Diversion Part from 2012 to this year, representing hundreds of 16 and 17-year-olds in a treatment court specifically designed for youngsters. Mr. Rice also successfully litigated some of the highest-profile civil rights cases in Westchester County concerning prisoner rights.
A product of the New Rochelle public schools and a graduate of Delaware State University with a law degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law, Rice has been active in the community since returning to New Rochelle after law school.
During his time on the City Council, Mr. Rice was a fierce advocate for community resources, affordable housing, and job creation, and ultimately helped secure a $10 million grant to revitalize the Lincoln Avenue corridor. Additionally, he effectively led the effort to make New Rochelle the first community in Westchester to accept Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge, an initiative to allow all young people to reach their potential in life, particularly boys and young men of color.
In addition to being a member of the New Rochelle Bar Association, Mr. Rice serves on the nonprofit boards of Volunteer New York and the Youth Shelter of Westchester, where he is the vicechair. He was also appointed this year by Governor Cuomo to the SUNY Purchase College Council.
Rice and his wife Jasmine have two young children, Jocelyn and Jayden, both students at William B. Ward Elementary School in New Rochelle.
“Jared has compiled a remarkable record of professional and public service as an attorney, member of the New Rochelle City Council, and community leader,” said Bramson. “Working at his side for almost a decade, I have seen firsthand Jared’s intelligence, integrity, temperament, and commitment to justice – all of which will be great assets to the New Rochelle Court.”
“I am incredibly proud to continue on the Rice legacy left to me by my mother,” Jared shared with Black Westchester. “I will keep you all posted as to the information regarding my swearing-in.”
