Hon. Robert W. Doyle

When news of retired Judge Robert Doyle’s death was announced during a gathering of Long Island attorneys and judges Thursday, a solemn hush fell over the room, followed by a moment of silence, his family said.

Doyle’s legacy stands tall among the legal community of Long Island, having served as an attorney as a young man for his father, Walter Doyle, then becoming a county court judge and then serving as State Supreme Court justice from 1982 to 2010, said those who knew him.

“He was an iconic figure, a really big part of the judicial history of Suffolk County,” said Andrew Crecca, district administrative judge in Suffolk County. “As a judge he could be tough, but at the same time endearing.”

Robert W. Doyle, 87, of Smithtown, died Thursday afternoon of heart failure at Luxor Nursing and Rehabilitation at Mills Pond in St. James, according to his son, Robert W. Doyle Jr.

Marvin Salenger, a Woodbury attorney, said an attorney facing Doyle on the bench needed to have their ducks in a row, and ready to go.

“I tried to always be prepared, always ready to try the case,” said Salenger. “He didn’t want to be known as a softy.”

On the bench, Doyle presided over some of Long Island’s most notable cases, including the initial trials for the 1979 slaying of 13-year-old John Pius. He also presided over the murder trial of Kevin Conroy in the 2008 slaying of Latino immigrant Marcelo Lucero. That case drew international media coverage and outrage from immigrant groups.

Born and raised in Garden City, Doyle graduated Chaminade High School in Mineola and received his law degree from St. John’s University School of Law in 1960, his son said. He worked as a private attorney until 1976, when he began serving on the bench of the Suffolk County Court. He was elected as a State Supreme Court Justice in 1981 and served until 2010.

After retiring from the bench, Doyle served as a mediator and arbitrator until his retirement in 2017.

In the Supreme Court building in Riverhead, Doyle was the presiding judge that assigned trial cases to other judges from 1994 to 2003, his son said. That could mean distributing 100 cases a day. When he started that job, the court was backlogged with thousands of unresolved cases, but he quickly worked to move cases along faster and eventually eliminated the backlog, said Doyle Jr., 55, of Sayville.

“As a judge, I’d describe him as tough and engaged. He wanted to get through all the baloney and get to the heart of the matter,” said Doyle Jr. “The system needed someone like my dad. He could crack the whip, get cases out, get cases settled or get them to trial.”

Doyle married his wife, Claire, in 1964 and the couple moved to a newly built home in Hauppauge, which was then considered “the end of the world,” his son said. The family moved to Smithtown in 1974.

At home, he was a tough-but-loving father, his son said.

“If you were waiting to be praised for getting good grades, well, it was just expected. He threw compliments around like manhole covers,” said Doyle Jr. “But if the chips were down, he would get immediately involved and help solve the problem.”

Doyle enjoyed mixing with the close-knit legal community in Suffolk County, his son said. He would often go to lunch with or meet after work with attorneys and other judges, though his friendships never affected his judgment of a case, Doyle Jr. said.

“He was unique. He had the ability to be a friend, a fair judge and tough when he needed to be,” Salenger said.

Doyle was a man with a big presence, in the courtroom as well as at home. His son recalled as a boy meeting many attorneys and judges. He could see how much his father loved his career in law, and the people in it. All that inspired Doyle Jr. to take up the law, and he now serves as a trial attorney.

“I respected him. I saw the other people were interesting and nice. I wanted the same kind of experiences,” Doyle Jr. said.

In the family’s private time, they enjoyed vacationing in a cabin in the woods in upstate Babcock Lake. Doyle also held season tickets for the New York Giants since 1958. He loved dogs, especially his golden retriever, Barney. When the dog died, he got another golden retriever and named it Barney. And then a third.

Doyle is survived by his wife of 58 years, Claire; three other sons, Kevin of Cary, North Carolina; Peter of Warrenton, Virginia; and Brian of Southampton; and nine grandchildren.

Viewing hours will be 7-9 p.m. Sunday, and 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Monday at Branch Funeral Home in Smithtown. The funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Saints Philip and James Roman Catholic Church in St. James.

Craig Schneider
By Craig Schneider