Portrait In Riverhead Court Honors Former Southampton Justice Edward D. Burke Sr.

After decades of serving as a Southampton Town justice, a State Supreme Court justice, and writing decisions, Justice Edward D. Burke Sr. received an honorary portrait this week at Suffolk County Supreme Court in Riverhead—a special honor for jurists.

The judge himself pulled a red covering off the portrait on Thursday, April 13, in front of a full courtroom of friends, family and colleagues at Suffolk County Supreme Court, where he served from 2000 to 2007.

The portrait shows Justice Burke standing in front of a bookcase, holding open his record book, with an American flag seen to the left. The painting is signed by J. Mulhall.

Justice Burke’s son, attorney Edward D. Burke Jr., stepped to the front of the room, holding up the thick, brown leather book that his father used to take notes during court proceedings as proof of his father’s hard work behind the bench.

“A few weeks ago, I snuck into his office and I got this—the record,” Mr. Burke said as he held up the book. “And while we’re seeing some wonderful pieces of art today, and my dad’s portrait, this truly is a masterpiece. Because, my friends, it depicts his note-taking on the bench in Riverhead through the years 2000 to the end of 2007. And during the time, as I studied this book, Judge Burke sat 469 [juries]—sometimes two at a time—took 246 verdicts, 121 plaintiff verdicts, 125 defendant verdicts. And if you ask me, that’s a pretty even balance.”

Mr. Burke, who practices law at Burke & Sullivan in Southampton Village, explained that all of his attorney friends loved going in front of his father, as he was seen as a fair judge—even in the toughest of cases.

“A lot of my fellow attorneys have stopped me in my tracks in our busy days,” Mr. Burke said. “And [they] say, ‘I just have to steal you for a moment. I just wanted to let you know that it was such a pleasure appearing in front of your dad, either earlier in the week or recently. And I just have to tell you what a great judge he is. His amazing instincts. He’s able to settle a case so rapidly. His ability to rip through the issues and get right down to the root of the case. No nonsense.’”

Justice Burke also served in the Southampton Town Justice Court from 1993 to 1999, and again from 2007 to 2016.

“I enjoyed this part immensely—the one part I really liked was dealing with the jurors,” he said of the county court. “Back then, right, every Monday, when a new panel would come in, 150 or 200 people downstairs, I’d grab my robe after the calendar calling and I’d go downstairs to speak with the jurors.

“I wanted to explain to them—I’d put the robe on and walk up and down the aisle to make them feel comfortable, but I wanted to explain to them, and educate them, and get them to stay there, because we needed to tell them that this terrifying process that they would endure really wasn’t that bad, and we really needed them.”