New York’s Unified Court System’s Committee to Celebrate Black History Month, The Tribune Society, Inc., and the Judicial Friends Association have bestowed the Hon. Theodore “Ted” Jones Lifetime Achievement Award on Barbadian-born Justice Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix, the first president of the newly-formed, Brooklyn-based Caribbean American Lawyers Association (CALA).
Justice Hinds-Radix, who serves as an Associate Justice of the New York State Appellate Division, Second Department, received the award during the groups’ annual Black History Month celebration.
Brooklyn-born Theodore Theopolis Jones, Jr. (Mar.10, 1944 – Nov. 6, 2012) was a judge on New York State’s Court of Appeals.
He was appointed to the court by Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer in 2007 for a 14-year term.
Judge Jones, who attended public schools in New York City, graduated from Hampton University in Hampton, VA in 1965, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science.
He served on active duty with the United States Army from 1967-1969. While in the service, he was stationed in Vietnam, and attained the rank of captain.
Judge Jones graduated from St. John’s University School of Law in Jamaica, Queens in 1972.
“I feel honored and humbled to be the recipient of this year’s Hon. Theodore ‘Ted’ Jones Lifetime Achievement Award,” Justice Hinds-Radix told Caribbean Life. “This is a great honor, and I am happy and blessed to have been chosen to receive such a prestigious award from my court family.
“I knew Ted for many years, and he was a friend, a mentor, a confidant, and an integral and well-respected part of the court system for a long time,” she added. “He was always full of life and always carried himself with dignity.
“Ted has left an indelible mark on all of our lives; and I know I speak for my entire court family when I say that he left this life too soon, and he will forever be missed,” Justice Hinds-Radix continued. “Like Judge Jones, I have dedicated my career to ensuring justice to anyone who seeks it, and I am grateful to him for his guidance and mentorship.
“I know that it is my responsibility to reach back and assist to raise up the next generation, just as Ted and many others did for me,” she said.
In July 2020, Justice Hinds-Radix, a former administrative judge for Civil Matters in the Second Judicial District, was elected president of CALA.
A graduate of Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., Justice Hinds-Radix epitomizes the statement, “it takes a village to raise a child,” by the outstanding work that she does in giving back to her own community.
A staunch advocate for children’s education, every Saturday morning, Justice Hinds-Radix said she and her family tutor young people at the Brooklyn-based Barbados Ex-Police Association.
She is also a former President of the Nathan K. Sobel American Inns of Court, the Second Vice President of The Judicial Friends, a Board Member of the Women in the Courts Committee and a member of the Board of Directors for the St. Gabriel’s Senior Citizens Center and the St. John’s Bread and Life Agency.
Justice Hinds-Radix served as the President of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association and the Supreme Court Justice of the City of New York.
She is also a member of several organizations, including the Brooklyn Bar Association, the New York State Association of Supreme Court Justices, the New York State Bar Association, Catholic Lawyers Guild, Columbian Lawyers of Brooklyn, the Association of Black Women Attorneys, the New York County Lawyers Association, JALBCA, Puerto Rican Bar Association, Latino Judges Association, The Tribune Society, the Metropolitan Black Bar Association, the National Bar Association’s Judicial Section and the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc., as well as being an active participant in several workshops conducted at the Judicial Institute.
Justice Hinds-Radix is the recipient of many awards, including The Gold Crown of Merit, which was conferred upon her by the Governor General of Barbados on the nation’s celebration of its 39th anniversary of its independence, one of the nation’s highest honors.
She has also been honored with the Shirley Chisholm Award, given to her by the Barbados Consulate in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Barbados’ Independence.
She has been honored with the Golda Meir Award, bestowed upon Justice Hinds-Radix by the Jewish Lawyers Guild, as well as the Beatrice M. Judge Award and the Sybil Hart Kooper Award by the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association, the Distinguished Judiciary Award and the President’s Award by the Catholic Lawyers Guild, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Advancement of the Caribbean Diaspora and was named one of the Top Women in Business by the Home Reporter.
Justice Hinds-Radix is also the recipient of the 2019 New York State Bar Association’s Diversity Trailblazer Award.
Justice Hinds-Radix earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts and her Master’s degree in political science from Long Island University.
In addition to being admitted to practice law in the State of New York, Justice Hinds-Radix is also admitted to the United States Federal Court: Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
Justice Hinds-Radix is married to Grenadian-born dentist, Dr. Joseph Radix, and they are the proud parents of three wonderful daughters.
