Hon. Sallie Manzanet-Daniels is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, First Judicial Department. She was appointed to the Appellate Division by former Governor David Paterson in 2009, becoming the first Latina justice to serve on the Court.
Manzanet-Daniels first joined the judiciary as a judge for the Civil Court of the City of New York in Bronx County after being elected to the seat in 1999. Later, in 2001, she was elected justice of the New York State Supreme Court. At the time, Manzanet-Daniels received a Gubernatorial Citation for holding the distinction of being the youngest justice of Hispanic heritage to be elected to the State Supreme Court.
She received a B.A. in psychology from Marymount Manhattan College in 1985. Manzanet-Daniels went on to earn a J.D. from Hofstra University, Maurice A. Deane School of Law in 1988.
After law school, she became a criminal defense trial attorney with the Legal Aid Society. Manzanet-Daniels also served as a principal law clerk to the Hon. Frank Torres with the Bronx County Supreme Court (Criminal Term) and the Hon. Luis A. Gonzalez, administrative judge for the Twelfth Judicial District.
Manzanet-Daniels is the co-founder and first chair of the Lalsa Alumni Scholarship Fund and the founder and first president of the Latino Law Students Association at Hofstra Law School. In addition, she served on the board of the Puerto Rican Bar Association and the Latino Judges Association and was elected to the Marymount Manhattan College Board of Trustees.
She is married to former New York Secretary of State Randy A. Daniels. Manzanet-Daniels was born in New York City and was raised in the South Bronx.