--- title: "Thomas P. Phelan | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-p-phelan-ny-trial-95930c7e" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-07-27" --- # Thomas P. Phelan Nassau County Supreme Court · Justice ## Profile - Court: Nassau County Supreme Court - State: New York - Role: Justice - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-27 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Justice of the Nassau County Supreme Court in New York’s 10th Judicial District, serving from 1996 until his death in 2015 - law secretary for the Nassau County Court (1974–1984) - After law school, Phelan served as an Assistant District Attorney in Nassau County for three years. ### Education - B.A. from Stony Brook University in 1967 and a J.D. from New York Law School in 1971 ### Additional information - Re-elected, 2010 to 2023 - He joined the Nassau County District Court in 1991 and elected to the Supreme Court in 1996, later re‐elected in 2009. - Phelan was active in local organizations, including the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside (President 1989–1990) and as a founding member of the Irish Monument Committee, which restored the Irish Monument in Mineola commemorating the 1916 Easter Uprising. - In 1984, he entered private practice - handling civil, criminal, and surrogate matters - Current court assignment: Nassau County Supreme Court - In his later career, he focused on guardianship cases involving incapacitated individuals, including the elderly - Phelan was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Oceanside. - He also served on the Public Employees Relations Board of the Town of Hempstead - He received the President’s Award from the Irish Americans in Government and the Feis Committee Fellowship Award from the Nassau County Ancient Order of Hibernians ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### recording and photography Scope: statewide New York statewide rules require permission before photographing, filming, videotaping, audiotaping, broadcasting, or telecasting in court facilities, including courtrooms. Evidence excerpt: Taking photographs, films or videotapes, or audiotaping, broadcasting or telecasting, in a courthouse including any courtroom, office or hallway thereof, at any time or on any occasion, whether or not the court is in session, is forbidden, unless permission of the Chief Administrator of the Courts or a designee of the Chief Administrator is first obtained [Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings](https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-29-electronic-recording-and-audio-visual-coverage-court-facilities-and-court-proceedings?from_node=15921&topic=386&wrapped=true) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### evidence presentation control Scope: statewide The official Guide to New York Evidence identifies court control over presentation of evidence as a statewide evidence topic; counsel should expect the assigned judge to control the mode and order of proof. Evidence excerpt: 1.07. COURT CONTROL OVER PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE [Guide to New York Evidence: Article 1, General Provisions and Court's Role](https://www.nycourts.gov/judges/evidence/1-GENERAL/1-generalprovisions.shtml) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/judicialdirectory/Bio?judge_id=4W50YStu1vpFvFtLpU25oQ%3D%3D) - [Official roster](https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/judicialdirectory/Bio?judge_id=4W50YStu1vpFvFtLpU25oQ%3D%3D) - [New York State Unified Court System official judicial roster](https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/judicialdirectory/Bio?judge_id=4W50YStu1vpFvFtLpU25oQ%3D%3D) - [Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings](https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-29-electronic-recording-and-audio-visual-coverage-court-facilities-and-court-proceedings?from_node=15921&topic=386&wrapped=true) - [Guide to New York Evidence: Article 1, General Provisions and Court's Role](https://www.nycourts.gov/judges/evidence/1-GENERAL/1-generalprovisions.shtml) - [New York State Unified Court System judicial profile or roster](https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/judicialdirectory/Bio?judge_id=4W50YStu1vpFvFtLpU25oQ%3D%3D) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-p-phelan-ny-trial-95930c7e", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-p-phelan-ny-trial-95930c7e", "name": "Thomas P. Phelan | KnowJudges", "description": "Thomas P. Phelan, Nassau County Supreme Court. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-07-27", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-p-phelan-ny-trial-95930c7e#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-p-phelan-ny-trial-95930c7e#judge", "name": "Thomas P. Phelan", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-p-phelan-ny-trial-95930c7e", "jobTitle": "Justice", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "Nassau County Supreme Court" }, "sameAs": [ "https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/judicialdirectory/Bio?judge_id=4W50YStu1vpFvFtLpU25oQ%3D%3D" ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "New York", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/new-york" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas P. Phelan", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-p-phelan-ny-trial-95930c7e" } ] } ] } ``` ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [22 NYCRR Part 200 — Uniform Rules Courts Exercising Criminal Jurisdiction](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/ny-shared-set-5e0f997e8c334d15fbc4) — State criminal proceedings only; section-specific court and case exceptions remain applicable. [Official source](https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-200-uniform-rules-courts-exercising-criminal-jurisdiction). Collected 2026-10-27. - [22 NYCRR Part 202 — Uniform Civil Rules Supreme Court And County Court](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/ny-shared-set-bf1c7eb9020e52eed65d) — Civil actions and proceedings only; section-specific and specialized-part restrictions remain applicable. [Official source](https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-202-uniform-civil-rules-supreme-court-and-county-court). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-99a7824bb8e009643f842c03) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-29-electronic-recording-and-audio-visual-coverage-court-facilities-and-court-proceedings?from_node=15921&topic=386&wrapped=true). Collected 2026-07-26. - [Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-34fe480ab82f22fa3c31d257) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-29-electronic-recording-and-audio-visual-coverage-court-facilities-and-court-proceedings?from_node=15921&topic=386&wrapped=true). Collected 2026-07-26.