Reports concerning former New York appellate justice Judith J. Gische have prompted obituary searches and questions about whether the longtime jurist and attorney has died.
As of September 29, 2026, however, no authoritative public source reviewed has confirmed Gische’s death.
No current family announcement, funeral-home obituary, New York court memorial notice, law-firm statement, or established news report confirming her passing was located.
Current professional information instead continues to identify Gische as Senior Counsel with Blank Rome LLP in New York, where her practice focuses on dispute resolution and business litigation.
Who Is Judith J. Gische?
Judith J. Gische is a highly experienced New York attorney and former judge whose judicial career spanned more than three decades.
She is best known for serving as an Associate Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, from 2012 until 2022.
The Appellate Division hears appeals arising from trial-level courts, making Gische’s appointment one of the most significant judicial roles in New York’s state court system.
Her career included service at multiple levels of the judiciary before she moved into private legal practice following her years on the appellate bench.
Has Judith J. Gische Died?
At this time, Judith J. Gische’s reported death has not been independently confirmed.
Searches of current obituary databases, New York court announcements, professional legal sources, and reliable news reporting did not reveal an authoritative announcement stating that she has passed away.
The absence of such confirmation is particularly important because her current law firm continues to maintain an active professional profile for her.
Blank Rome identifies Gische as a Senior Counsel in its Business Litigation practice in New York.
Until her family, Blank Rome, the New York court system, or another authoritative source issues confirmation, reports announcing her death should be treated cautiously.
Judith Gische Was Active in Legal Practice in 2026
There is also recent documentary evidence connecting Gische with active legal work in 2026.
A New York Appellate Division decision issued on April 2, 2026, in Efran v. Efran lists Blank Rome attorneys Judith J. Gische and Edward E. Smith as counsel for the respondent.
The case was decided by the Appellate Division, First Department — the same appellate court on which Gische previously served as a justice.
This does not establish her status on September 29 by itself, but it demonstrates that she remained professionally active during 2026 and underscores the need for reliable confirmation before publishing an obituary.
Judith J. Gische’s Judicial Career
Gische began her judicial career in 1990, when she was appointed a Housing Court Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York and served in Kings County.
She was elected to the New York City Civil Court in 1993.
In 1997, she became an Acting Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, serving in New York and Bronx counties.
Gische was then elected to the New York State Supreme Court in 2008.
Her judicial career reached the appellate level in October 2012, when she was designated an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department.
Ten Years on the Appellate Division
Judith Gische served on the Appellate Division’s First Department from 2012 through 2022.
During that period, she participated in the review of civil and criminal appeals arising from New York County and other jurisdictions within the First Department.
Her official court biography records her decade of appellate service and extensive earlier experience in the New York State court system.
According to her Blank Rome professional biography, Gische participated in appellate panels deciding more than 6,000 appeals during her judicial career.
She also presided over thousands of matters at the trial-court level and authored numerous judicial decisions.
Education and Early Legal Career
Gische studied at Queens College before earning her bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1977.
She graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
She later earned her law degree from the University at Buffalo in 1980.
After law school, Gische worked as a judicial clerk with the Appellate Division, Third Department, from 1980 until 1982.
She then entered private practice with the law firm Richenthal, Abrams and Moss, where she worked until beginning her judicial career in 1990.
Career After Leaving the Appellate Bench
Following her appellate service, Gische continued her legal career in private practice.
Blank Rome currently lists her as Senior Counsel within its Business Litigation group.
Her practice includes alternative dispute resolution, commercial litigation, matrimonial matters, and real estate disputes.
The firm describes her as having developed extensive experience resolving complex disputes after decades spent on the bench.
Judith Gische’s Influence on New York Law
Over the course of her judicial career, Gische participated in thousands of cases involving a broad range of legal issues.
Her work included commercial disputes, matrimonial litigation, real estate matters, tort cases, and other civil proceedings.
Before reaching the Appellate Division, she served extensively as a trial judge, where she managed cases through discovery, dispositive motions, settlement proceedings, and trials.
Her later appellate work placed her among the judges responsible for reviewing decisions from lower courts throughout the First Judicial Department.
Teaching and Legal Education
Gische’s contributions to the legal profession have also included teaching.
The New York court system’s biography lists her as an adjunct professor at New York Law School, a role she began in 2004.
Her combination of judicial service, private practice, and legal education gave her experience across several areas of New York’s legal profession.
Judith J. Gische Cause of Death
No verified cause of death has been announced because Gische’s reported passing itself remains unconfirmed.
There is currently no authoritative information linking her to an illness, accident, medical emergency, or other cause.
Any attempt to assign a cause of death would therefore be speculative.
If an official obituary or family announcement is released, any cause-of-death information should only be included if the family or another authoritative source chooses to disclose it.
No Verified Funeral or Memorial Arrangements
No confirmed visitation, funeral service, burial, or memorial arrangements for Judith J. Gische were located.
Likewise, no public memorial notice from the New York State courts or Blank Rome was found in the sources reviewed.
If her passing is eventually confirmed, those institutions may provide information regarding memorials, professional tributes, or funeral arrangements.
Reports Should Not Be Confused With Confirmed Information
Online obituary reports sometimes appear before information has been independently verified.
In this case, one recently published website also acknowledged that it could not independently confirm reports of Gische’s death.
Repeating an unconfirmed report across multiple websites does not independently establish that the underlying claim is true.
For a prominent former judge, confirmation would normally be expected from sources such as her family, law firm, the New York State Unified Court System, a bar association, or an established news organization.
Judith Gische’s Documented Professional Legacy
Whether or not the current death reports are ultimately confirmed, Judith J. Gische has a substantial documented legal legacy.
Her career progressed from judicial clerk and private attorney to Housing Court judge, Civil Court judge, Acting Supreme Court Justice, elected Supreme Court Justice, and ultimately Associate Justice of the Appellate Division.
She spent roughly a decade on the First Department appellate bench and later returned to private legal practice.
Her career reflects more than three decades of involvement in New York’s judiciary and legal profession.
Latest Judith J. Gische Obituary Update
As of September 29, 2026, the available authoritative evidence establishes that Judith J. Gische is a former New York Appellate Division justice and currently has a professional profile as Senior Counsel at Blank Rome.
A New York appellate decision also documents her involvement as counsel in litigation decided in April 2026.
What has not been established is a confirmed death.
No authoritative obituary, cause of death, funeral arrangement, family statement, court memorial, or law-firm announcement confirming her passing was located.
Until such confirmation emerges, references to Judith J. Gische’s death should remain clearly identified as unverified reports.