Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick

Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick (born January 1, 1942 ) is a judge who served as associate judge on the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state of New York, from 1994 through 2012, when she reached mandatory retirement age. As of June 2015, she has returned to the practice of law. As of October 2024, at the age of 82, she was still working as Of Counsel at Greenberg Traurig, and was also Chairperson of the New York Board of Law Examiners.

Early life and education Judge Ciparick is the daughter of two migrants from Puerto Rico and grew up in Washington Heights.

Legal career Following law school and passing the bar, Ciparick worked for the Legal Aid Society. In 1978, she was appointed Judge of the New York City Criminal Court. She was elected as a justice of New York Supreme Court in 1982.

Judge Ciparick was appointed to the New York Court of Appeals by Governor Mario Cuomo in 1994. She was reappointed to the Court by Governor Eliot Spitzer in 2007. Upon reaching the mandatory retirement age, Ciparick retired on December 31, 2012.

In the well-known Court of Appeals case of Hernandez v. Robles, the court held, by a 4-2 majority, that the state constitution did not require the recognition of same-sex marriage. Chief Judge Judith Kaye wrote a strongly worded dissent that Ciparick joined.

In 2012, she had returned to the practice of law, and was working as of October 2024 at the notable law firm of Greenberg Traurig.