Civil Court Judge - District 3
Principal court attorney, a career law clerk, to Acting Justice Audrey E. Stone in the Criminal Term of Bronx County Supreme Court since June 2023, and an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois College of Law since Jan. 2026.
Democratic nominee, chosen by party nomination; no primary was held for this seat.
Principal court attorney, Bronx County Supreme Court · Admitted to the New York bar in 2014
Selected cases & rulings
He was admitted to the New York bar in 2014 in the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, and his registration lists his employer as Bronx County Supreme Court, Criminal Term. No rating of him from the New York City Bar Association, the New York County Lawyers Association or the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York was found as of Oct. 1, 2026. None of the sources found shows him holding judicial office, so no court decisions or judicial conduct record are listed.
Professional experience
since June 2023
Principal court attorney to Acting Justice Audrey E. Stone, Bronx County Supreme Court, Criminal Term.
Steven Benathen — candidate materials (résumé and letter, PDF) ↗since Jan. 2026
Adjunct professor at the University of Illinois College of Law.
Steven Benathen — candidate materials (résumé and letter, PDF) ↗Feb. 2023–June 2023
Associate court attorney to a judge.
Steven Benathen — candidate materials (résumé and letter, PDF) ↗June 2022–Feb. 2023
Staff attorney in the Criminal Defense Practice at The Bronx Defenders.
Steven Benathen — candidate materials (résumé and letter, PDF) ↗Feb. 2022–May 2022
Associate at the law firm Cohen Clair Lans Greifer Thorpe & Rottenstreich LLP.
Steven Benathen — candidate materials (résumé and letter, PDF) ↗Sept. 2020–Feb. 2022
Principal law clerk to Associate Justice Lizbeth González of the Appellate Division, First Department.
Steven Benathen — candidate materials (résumé and letter, PDF) ↗Sept. 2019–Sept. 2020
Appellate counsel at The Center for Appellate Litigation.
Steven Benathen — candidate materials (résumé and letter, PDF) ↗Sept. 2016–Aug. 2019
Assistant law clerk to Associate Justice Ellen Gesmer of the Appellate Division, First Department.
Steven Benathen — candidate materials (résumé and letter, PDF) ↗Sept. 2013–Sept. 2016
Staff attorney in the Criminal Defense Practice at The Bronx Defenders, where he began his career as a public defender.
Steven Benathen — candidate materials (résumé and letter, PDF) ↗Bar admission & conduct
Admitted 2014 · University of Illinois College of Law
NYS Attorney Registrations (data.ny.gov) — registration of Steven Daniel Benathen ↗Qualifications & evaluations
Most Highly Qualified
Independent Judicial Screening Panel · 2026
As he reports it: his candidate materials say the 2026 panel found him Most Highly Qualified as a candidate for Civil Court. The panel's own published finding was not found as of Oct. 1, 2026.
Steven Benathen — candidate materials (résumé and letter, PDF) ↗