Sworn in Tuesday as Erie County’s newest Family Court judge, Shannon M. Filbert called the moment “the culmination of 25 years of breaking down barriers and facing obstacles headfirst.”
Filbert, 41, took office as the only quadriplegic elected to a full-time judgeship in New York State.
She’s been on a remarkable path of accomplishment since her spine snapped in a car accident when she was a 16-year-old high school junior in West Seneca.
“I realize I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the love and support of so many people from so many different walks of life,” she said in the ceremonial courtroom at Erie County Hall.
“As most of you know, I love Broadway musicals, and since every great speech has quotes, my quotes will be from some of my favorite musicals,” Filbert told her family, friends and colleagues. “I’ll first start with ‘Wicked’ – everyone deserves a chance to fly, and I feel like I am flying right now. This is my defying gravity moment!”
For those who have appeared before her previously in West Seneca Town Court or will do so in Family Court, her wheelchair is a sign she has faced her own challenges.
And that has helped shape her as a judge who will deal with difficult family cases.
“You have to remember that people have a lot of trauma in their life that they have gone through, so you never really know who’s coming in your courtroom,” Filbert told The Buffalo News before her swearing-in ceremony. “So I feel I’m empathetic. And I know the obstacles and how difficult some issues in life are. So I think it’s important to recognize that I had my own, and everyone else has their own. Sometimes it’s not as visual as mine – being in a wheelchair – but you just have to be cognizant of that.”
She hopes to inspire those facing difficult challenges.
“There’s always going to be a stigma attached to a disability,” she said. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s true. I just think I’m proving that that stigma may be…
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