From the Other Side of the Bench

An incisive look at life both in and out of the courtroom, From the Other Side of the Bench tells the story of one man’s extraordinary life of service.

Hon. Peter Leavitt’s story begins with his colorful upbringing in Brooklyn, New York, and returns to this theme throughout to explain how he came to his judicial decisions as well as how he came to live his life.

Intriguingly, Leavitt begins his career as a stand-up comedian. After working as a prosecutor and a defense attorney, his career leads him to a position as a trial judge. There, he is tasked with overseeing some high-profile cases, including the 1996 court case of an off-duty, white policeman sentenced to twenty years to life for murdering a young black man in a fight over a parking space.

Leavitt’s fascinating life also includes service with the US Army and the New York Guard and volunteer work as a firefighter, Red Cross instructor, and a certified EMT.

Informative as it is entertaining, this sparkling memoir raises important questions about the choices we make, illustrating how the family we are born into and those we meet along the way form the people we become.

Hon. Peter M. Leavitt graduated with a bachelor's degree from New York University before earning his juris doctorate from Fordham Law School.

During his career, he has been both in front of and behind the bench, having worked in the Brooklyn and Westchester County District Attorney's Offices, in private practice as a defense attorney, and as a Town Judge, a County Court Judge, and an Acting New York State Supreme Court Justice.

In addition to his work in the courtroom, Leavitt served for ten years as a volunteer firefighter, where he retired as a captain, and ten years as a certified EMT. He was also activated as a Red Cross volunteer at Ground Zero following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and has served as a Red Cross hurricane shelter chairman in Florida.

Leavitt is an army veteran who later joined the New York Guard before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2003.