Committed to justice and the highest ethical standards, Brian Hughes throughout his career, has fought for the rights and safety of people, regardless of their ethnicity, sex, or income level. Brian has a formidable resume beginning as a FDNY firefighter and then Fire Marshal, to NYS Assistant Attorney General, NYC Inspector General, Brooklyn District Attorney Bureau Chief and culminating as a Southold Town Justice. During this time, he was an Adjunct Professor of Law and Police Science at John Jay College, part of CUNY. As a volunteer, Brian served as Justice with the East End Regional Intervention Court from 2017 to 2019 and on the Southold Ethics Board from 2007 to 2015, serving as Chair from 2010 to 2015. He continues his dedication to the equal application of the law, a cornerstone of our democracy.
As a prosecutor, Brian investigated and prosecuted numerous cases involving fraud, waste, and wrongdoing. In private practice, Brian has helped our friends and neighbors with a variety of legal issues. He has been practicing law in NY courts, doing trials and litigation work for over thirty years in almost every court from Manhattan to Orient Point. Brian served tirelessly as Southold Town Justice, administering justice to all Southold residents from 2015 thru 2019. The former Chair of the Southold Town Ethics Committee (2010 - 2015), Brian volunteered his time as Justice in the drug courts for the five East end towns. In this role, he helped people who have been arrested for substance abuse move toward substance-free, productive lives.
Experienced:
- 4 years experience as Town Justice of the Town of Southold
- 4 years working with the East End Drug court to help people overcome their addictions
- Completed Judicial Campaign Ethics Training Program with the NYS Unified Court System
- More than 30 years of trial and litigation experience throughout NY
- Admitted to practice throughout NY and the US District Court for the Eastern District of NY
- Former NYS Assistant Attorney General
- Former Kings County District Attorney Bureau Chief & Executive Assistant District Attorney
- Former Adjunct Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- St John's University School of Law, Juris Doctor
- John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude
- Volunteer member of the Southold Town Ethics Committee since 2008: Chairman 2010 to 2015
- Volunteer Judge in the East End Regional Intervention Court (Drug Court) 2016 - 2019
- Volunteer Attorney participated in the 18B Panel, defending indigent defendants in Suffolk County for 15 years
- More than 50 years of proven service protecting individual rights, freedom, property & lives
- Former Firefighter and Fire Marshal, FDNY & Member of Fraternal Order of Police