Justice J. Irwin Shapiro was born in Brooklyn around the year 1905 and earned degrees from New York University and New York University Law School. He began his legal career as an Assistant State Attorney General in 1932, then worked as an Assistant District Attorney for Queens County and as a Chief Assistant from 1932 until 1951, opening a bureau for the prevention of juvenile delinquency in 1948. Shapiro went on to hold the positions of New York City Magistrate and Domestic Relations Justice, and was appointed by Governor Harriman as Commissioner of Investigation beginning in 1955.
Shapiro served as a judge of the City Court and Queens County Court before becoming a State Supreme Court Justice. In 1970, he was designated to the Appellate Division, Second Department by Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. Justice Shapiro retired from the bench in 1979 and thereafter served as counsel to the firm of Suozzi, English & Klein.
Additionally, he was active in Democratic and Jewish organizations.
He was married to Kate Louise and had one daughter, Diane Gasworth, who became a judge of the New York City Housing Court. He died on October 1, 1985 in Queens at the age of 80.
Sources
“Governor’s Investigator.” New York Times (1923-Current file): 21. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008). Feb 13 1956. Web. 2 July 2012.
“J. Irwin Shapiro Dies; A Retired State Judge.” New York Times (1923-Current file): D23. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008). Oct 03 1985. Web. 2 July 2012.