Justice Vincent Pizzuto was born around 1922 in Manhattan and lived in Brooklyn for most of his life. He earned degrees from City College of New York in 1943 and St. John’s University School of Law in 1950. He practiced law for 19 years before joining the bench. Pizzuto was a law secretary for Hon. Jerome Steinberg of the Civil Court (1970-1973), Kings County Surrogate Hon. Nathan R. Sobel (1974-1977) and Kings County Surrogate Hon. Bernard M. Bloom (1977-1979).
Pizzuto served as Kings County Acting Surrogate from 1980 until 1992. In 1986, he was designated to the Appellate Term and in 1992 to the Appellate Division, Second Department. In 1993, Justice Pizzuto wrote a majority opinion ruling a program providing condoms to New York City public school students violated parents’ constitutional rights and state health laws. He retired from the Appellate Division in 1998. Pizzuto then served as a Judicial Hearing Officer from 1999 until 2010. In 2003, he was appointed by Mayor Bloomberg to the Mayor’s Committee on City Marshals.
In addition to his judicial career, Justice Pizzuto taught as an adjunct professor of law at St. John’s University. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was also a gardener and painter, and many of his paintings hang in the Historic Richmond Town Third County Courthouse.
He was married to Frances for 42 years and had three children and four grandchildren. He died on July 5, 2011 in Huguenot, Staten Island at the age of 89.
Sources
Appellate Division, Second Department, 100th Anniversary. 24. The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York, 1996. Web. 12 June 2012. http://www.courts.state.ny.us/history/pdf/Library/Courts/App_Div_Sec_Dept_100th_Anniv.pdf.
Barbanel, Josh. “Condom Handouts Voided in Schools.” New York Times (1923-Current file): A1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008). Dec 31 1993. Web. 12 June 2012.
“Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg Appoints New Members to the Mayor’s Committee on City Marshals.” NYC.gov.12 Sept. 2003. Web. 12 June 2012.
“Vincent Pizzuto, 89.” Staten Island Advance, 7 July 2011. Web. 12 June 2012. http://www.silive.com/obituaries/index.ssf/2011/07/vincent_pizzuto_89.html.