Judge Javier E. Vargas was appointed the new downstate co-chair of the Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission, Chief Judge Rowan Wilson announced on Tuesday.

Judge Vargas, a judge of the New York State Court of Claims, former Brooklyn Family Court judge and the first openly gay Latino appointed to that bench, will serve alongside Justice Grace M. Hanlon of the Eighth Judicial District. He succeeds Judge Karen Lupuloff, who is retiring from the bench and will remain a member of the Commission.

The leadership change comes at a moment when the courts are putting greater focus on how judges interact with the people who appear before them.

Chief Judge Wilson said the appointment is a part of the Commission’s mission to ensure that “all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity o

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