Judge Toko Serita
Acting Supreme Court Justice and Former Presiding Judge, Queens Human Trafficking Intervention Court
Judge Toko Serita is a leading judicial advocate in the criminal justice system addressing the problem of sex trafficking. She has presided over the innovative and pioneering Queens Human Trafficking Intervention Court and, after serving as Statewide Coordinating Judge for Problem-Solving Courts, returned full-time to the Queens Criminal Court bench in 2025. Under the leadership of Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, the Queens court served as a model for the statewide Human Trafficking Intervention Court initiative announced in 2013, which now includes twelve operational locations throughout New York State.
“New York’s trailblazing effort to use the courts to combat human trafficking has opened a new front in the fight against modern day slavery.”