Rita Mella
Surrogate's Court judge, New York County, since Jan. 2013 · Admitted to the New York bar in 1992
On the Democratic line for Surrogate, New York County, in the Nov. 3, 2026 general election.
Full profile →Judge of the New York County Surrogate's Court in Manhattan since Jan. 2013. Before that she was a Civil Court judge assigned to the Criminal Court in Manhattan, after 13 years as a law clerk to judges.
Career & documented work
since Jan. 2013
Judge of the New York County Surrogate's Court.
Ballotpedia — Rita Mella ↗2012
Elected to the New York County Surrogate's Court in Manhattan, the first Latina elected to sit on that court.
City College of New York, Dominican Studies Institute — Dominican Blue Book: Rita Mella ↗elected 2006
Elected a judge of the New York City Civil Court, then assigned to the Criminal Court in Manhattan, where she presided over the Misdemeanor Treatment Court for three years.
New York Real Estate Law Blog — Jaffe and Mella Square Off in Surrogate Primary (Aug. 2012) ↗through 2006
Court attorney and law clerk to Judge Margarita López Torres of the Kings County Surrogate's and Criminal Courts.
City College of New York, Dominican Studies Institute — Dominican Blue Book: Rita Mella ↗1993–2002
Court attorney and law clerk to Judge Richard Rivera of the Kings County Family, Civil and Supreme Courts.
Ballotpedia — Rita Mella ↗
Bar admission & conduct
- Bar admission
Admitted 1992 · CUNY Law School
NYS Attorney Registrations (data.ny.gov) — registration of Rita M. Mella ↗- Judicial conduct
No public determination naming Rita Mella in the State Commission on Judicial Conduct's determination database (checked Oct. 1, 2026).
NYS Commission on Judicial Conduct — public determination list ↗