John Carro

John Carro (born August 24, 1927) is an American judge. He served as a judge for 25 years and was involved in many high-profile cases. A New York Supreme Court Justice serving in the Appellate Division, where he served as an associate justice for the last 15 of his 25 years as a judge. After retirement from the bench in 1994, Carro founded Carro, Velez, Carro & Mitchell (now known as Carro, Carro & Mitchell), a private law firm in New York City. Carro is an ardent advocate for the Hispanic and Latino American community and human rights throughout the world, and has been a major leader in the founding and management of many bar groups, committees and legal and educational associations. He was described by The New York Times as a "legendary Justice." Early life and education Carro was born in Orocovis, Puerto Rico, on August 21, 1927. His family moved to New York City in 1937 when he was 10 years old and he grew up in East Harlem. Carro graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in 1945. He served in the United States Navy from 1945 to 1947. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University in 1949 and his J.D. degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1952. Judge Carro attended one year at New York University's School of Public Administration through the City Executive Program. In addition he received a Masters of Judicial Process from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1984. Early career Growing up, Carro wanted to get social work experience. At the same time that he began law school in 1949, he began working as a social investigator for the city of New York. He continued in this position until 1952. After graduating from Brooklyn Law School in 1952, Carro worked as a probation officer in the Children's Division of the Domestic Relations Court until the fall of 1954. He worked as an officer with the New York City Police Department for one month, but then decided to resign. He preferred working with young people in a more direct, preventative way, before they committed a crime, were arrested and had to go to court. For this reason, he joined the New City Youth Board and worked with the council of Social and Athletic Clubs, otherwise known as the "street gang project" until 1958. In 1956, while Carro was working with the New City Youth Board, he was admitted to practice law. That year John was appointed to the State Commission Against Discrimination, and he worked as a field representative for the next 4 years.