Judge Martha Luft is seeking re-election to the Family Court of Suffolk County, after serving on the bench for ten years with great distinction. She is the only candidate for Family Court who has received a “highly qualified” rating from the Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission.
Family Court Judges hear cases involving the neglect and abuse of children, juvenile delinquency, persons in need of supervision (“PINS”), child custody, adoptions, violations of child support orders, family offenses requiring orders of protection and applications by children for special immigrant juvenile status. The decisions rendered in these matters have the most profound impact on the lives of the children and families of Suffolk County. Judge Luft has presided over thousands of matters, with compassion, insight, diligence and dedication. She is known for her impeccable integrity, her authoritative knowledge of the law, her calm demeanor and profound fairness.
In 2010, Judge Luft was appointed Acting Supreme Court Justice, and spent three years presiding over guardianship proceedings for incapacitated adults, another extremely vulnerable sector of our society. For the past two years, she has represented Suffolk County on the state-wide Family Court Judges Curriculum Committee, helping to develop continuing education programs for the Family Court bench.
At the time of her election in 2005, Judge Luft had over twenty years of experience in legal practice, as partner at a major Riverhead law firm, and as NYS Assistant Attorney General at the Suffolk regional office, rising to Attorney General in charge. She has always been active in her community, serving on the Board of the Middle Country Library Foundation, the Advisory Board of the Long Island Occupational and Environmental Health Center, the Board of Trustees of the North Shore Jewish Center, and the Business Committee of the Long Island Museum.
Judge Luft is a graduate of Stanford Law School, one of the top law schools in the country, and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of SUNY at Stony Brook. She also holds two master’s degrees in art history from Columbia University. She has been married for over forty years to Dr. Benjamin Luft, founder/director of the World Trade Center Health Program and professor at Stony Brook Medical School. They raised their three terrific children in Port Jefferson and Setauket, before moving east to Riverhead with their dog, Jazzie. Judge Luft and her husband are the proud grandparents of three beautiful grandchildren who are the joys of their lives.