After an exceptional education and a long and storied legal career, noted attorney Rupert Barry wants to bring it all back home as a public servant in running in the upcoming Sept. 12 Democratic Primary to become civil court judge in the 6th Municipal Court District.
The district covers from Atlantic Avenue to Avenue M and includes such diverse neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Northern Park Slope, Flatbush and Ditmas Park.
“I’m fortunate to have had strong men and women in my life who taught me about the importance of public service and giving back,” said Barry, who has been spending days crossing the district on foot and through public transportation talking to residents. “It’s important to connect to the people I serve and do justice for them.”
Born in Aruba and then raised in Grenada, Barry came to Brooklyn at a young age where he attended local public schools in Crown Heights and Lefferts Gardens before graduating from Lincoln High School in Coney Island. He went on to earn both a BA and MA of Criminal Justice from John Jay College, before graduating cum laude from the prestigious Howard University Law School in Washington D.C., where he also served as editor-in-chief of the Howard Law Journal.
Barry’s law career includes work as both a state and federal prosecutor, as well as being a defense attorney in private practice enabling him to gain expertise on both sides of the legal system.
“I have tried approximately a hundred criminal cases—of which nearly fifty have been homicide cases. I have also conducted over a hundred hearings and made over a hundred presentations to various grand juries,” said Barry.
“Additionally, I have taken a vast number of statements from criminal defendants and interviewed hundreds of witnesses: civilian, law enforcement, and experts in ballistics, forensic pathology, psychology, forensic DNA, etc. These interviews were conducted either as part of defending a client or, when as a prosecutor, in an attempt to enhance a felony criminal case, or in preparation for trial,” he added.
Barry cautioned it’s an error for residents to think they will somehow never be connected to a judge, which makes the upcoming judicial primary all the more important.
“It’s either going to be you or a family member. It might be a civil case involving an injury or you’re suing someone or a family member or you become connected to the criminal justice system. You need to know the judges who you are going to be supporting. The kind of person you put on that bench. Is it the kind of person who understands the community and that’s not talking about giving somebody a by. It’s about someone who is trying to be fair and see that justice is done,” he said.
Barry said in choosing the person to sit on the bench, residents need to consider a person they belive has the kind of temperament and background that seeks justice and wisdom for all and not someone with a them and us mentality.
And it is to this connection to what Barry calls the “Brooklyn village” that have earned him a number of quality and diverse endorsements including from Assembly members Walter Mosley and Robert Carroll, and former Assembly Member James Brennan.
“Sometimes the court system is the only place where people feel they can find justice, and justice doesn’t necessarily mean you win. Sometimes justice means you believe you were heard and were listened to, and the result was fair. That’s what I want to give to people,” said Barry.
Although only residents in the 6th Municipal District can vote in the upcoming primary, the chief administrative court system can assign the eventual winner throughout the civil, supreme and family court unified state system.
The 6th Municipal District Civil Court Judge primary is slated for Sept. 12. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
