Hon. John V. Centra is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department. He was appointed to the Appellate Division by former Governor George Pataki in October 2006.
Centra began his judicial career in 1988, when he became a town justice for the Town of DeWitt. He maintained this seat until being appointed by then-Governor Pataki to serve as a justice of the Onondaga County Supreme Court in 1999. Centra was subsequently elected to the same bench the following year. He remained on the Onondaga County Supreme Court until his elevation to the Appellate Division in 2006. During his tenure in Onondaga County, he served as deputy administrative judge for the Fifth Judicial District.
Centra received a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He went on to earn a J.D. from Ohio Northern Law School.
After law school, he joined the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office in 1984, where he served as an assistant district attorney assigned to the Felony Trial and DWI Units. Then, in 1989, while also serving as a DeWitt town justice, Centra entered into private practice. He first joined Carni, Centra & Rose (1989 to 1991) before joining Primo, Primo & Centra (1992 to 1997). At the time of his appointment to the Onondaga County Supreme Court, Centra was practicing as a partner at Primo, Primo, Centra & Kirwan, LLP (1998 to 1999).
He served as chairman of the Onondaga County Jury Board and was a judicial delegate to the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
His other memberships have included the New York Bar Association, the New York State Magistrates Association (past-president), and the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.
In 2018, Centra received the Ruger Award from the Onondaga County Bar Association.
He and his wife have four children.