County Executive McMahon Announces Retired Family Court Judges Martha Mulroy and Martha Walsh Hood to Lead Independent Review
Independent Review Underway in the case involving Ashton DeGonzaque Syracuse, N.Y. – County Executive McMahon today announced that he has asked retired family court judges Martha Mulroy and Martha Walsh Hood to perform an independent review of all cases handled by the caseworker who was assigned the case involving Ashton DeGonzaque. Both judges have accepted the request from the County Executive and they are currently reviewing all applicable cases. County Executive McMahon said, “With this comprehensive review, I want to reassure the public that we are reviewing all these cases to ensure that children are safe and that appropriate casework was conducted.” McMahon continued, “I cannot imagine there are two better qualified individuals in our community to undertake this task and I thank them for leading this independent review.” Should inconsistencies or inadequate casework be identified, the Department of Children and Family Services will immediately contact the families involved to reassess safety of all children. Hon. Martha Walsh Hood was appointed to Onondaga County Family Court in February 2000, subsequently elected to the Family Court bench and designated an acting Supreme Court Justice. She served as Supervising Judge of Family Courts in New York’s Fifth Judicial District. Over the course of her judicial career, she presided over several nontraditional “problem-solving” courts including Onondaga County’s Integrated Domestic Violence Court, which she helped launch. She retired from the bench in 2020. Hon. Martha Mulroy was elected judge for Onondaga Family Court in 2007. She was designated an acting New York State Supreme Court justice in 2014. She was honored as Family Court Judge of the Year by her colleagues in 2015. Mulroy ran unopposed for re-election in 2016 and retired from the bench in 2023.
