Vito Joseph Titone[3] (July 5, 1929 – July 6, 2005) was an American judge who served as an Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1985 to 1998.
[1][4] Titone was known as a liberal lion of the state's highest court.
[5] One of his most notable decisions was the majority opinion in Braschi v. Stahl, which recognized for the first time that a gay couple could be considered a family under the law.
[6] Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Queens, Titone received his law degree from St. John's University School of Law, where he was a classmate and close friend with future Governor Mario Cuomo, who later appointed Titone to the Court of Appeals.
[7][8] He died on July 6, 2005, in Staten Island, New York City, New York at age 76.