FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2008

Presiding Justice Anthony V. Cardona of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, recently announced that a regular court session of the Appellate Division will be held in Columbia County.

The Court will sit in Hudson on Thursday, April 24th, at the Columbia County Courthouse, commencing at 10:00 A.M. The calendar will consist of oral arguments by attorneys in a variety of civil and criminal cases. The session will commence with a presentation by the Columbia County Bar Association of a portrait of Hon. John G. Connor, a former Justice of the Supreme Court of the Third Judicial District from Columbia County, who retired in 2005. The public is invited and encouraged to attend this session.

In addition to Presiding Justice Cardona, the five-judge panel at the session will include Justice Karen K. Peters, of Ulster County, Justice Anthony J. Carpinello, of Rensselaer County, Justice Anthony T. Kane, of Sullivan County, and Justice Leslie E. Stein, of Albany County.

Presiding Justice Cardona noted that the Court last sat in Columbia County on November 13, 2000.

Presiding Justice Cardona also noted that three former Justices of the Appellate Division, Third Department, have had ties to Columbia County: Presiding Justice Aaron Van Schaick Cochrane practiced law in Hudson in the late nineteenth century and served as District Attorney of Columbia County from 1889 to 1892. He was elected to the Supreme Court in 1901 and served on the Appellate Division from 1906 to 1911, and from 1915 to 1928. He was appointed Presiding Justice in 1922 and served as such until he left the court in 1928. Justice Samuel Edwards also practiced law in Hudson in the late 1800s and was elected to the Supreme Court in 1887. He was appointed to the Appellate Division in 1900 and served until his Supreme Court term expired in December 1901. Justice Daniel V. Mc Namee was born in Chatham, Columbia County, and served as Columbia County judge from 1913 to 1919. He became a Justice of the Supreme Court in 1929 and was appointed to the Appellate Division in 1932, serving until his death in 1939.

The Presiding Justice stated that since 1995 the Appellate Division has conducted court sessions in each of the Third Department’s 28 counties and periodically at Albany Law School and Cornell Law School. He noted the sessions would continue into the future to give the public a further opportunity to observe the appellate process first hand.

For further information, please contact Michael J. Novack, the Clerk of the Court (518-471-4777).

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 24, 2008

Presiding Justice Anthony V. Cardona of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, is pleased to announce the appointment of Steven R. Jones, Esq. to the Committee on Character and Fitness for the Sixth Judicial District.

Mr. Jones is from Morrisville, Madison County and a partner with Nodell, Jones & Kendall in Morrisville. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1979 and is a graduate of Syracuse University Law School.

The Committee on Character and Fitness is charged with the responsibility of investigating and making recommendations to the Court regarding the character and fitness of applicants for admission to the New York State Bar. Its members are appointed for five year terms. All members of the Committee serve without compensation.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2008

Presiding Justice Anthony V. Cardona of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, recently announced that a regular session of the Appellate Division will be held in Saratoga County. The Court will sit in the Supreme Court Courtroom which is located in Building #3 of the Saratoga County Office Complex, 30 McMaster Street, Ballston Spa, on Thursday, March 27, 2008, commencing at 10:00 A.M. The calendar will consist of oral arguments in a variety of civil and criminal cases. The public is invited and encouraged to attend this session.

In addition to Presiding Justice Cardona, the five-judge panel at the session will include Justice Thomas E. Mercure, of Washington County, Justice Edward O. Spain, of Rensselaer County, Justice John A. Lahtinen, of Clinton County, and Justice E. Michael Kavanagh, of Ulster County.

Presiding Justice Cardona also announced that the regular session of Court will begin with a special remembrance to honor the late Hon. Michael E. Sweeney, of Saratoga County, who served on the Appellate Division, Third Department, from 1969 to 1983. Prior to his designation to the Appellate Division, Justice Sweeney served as a Supreme Court Justice on the trial bench for the Fourth Judicial District from 1960. He graduated from St. Mary's College and Albany Law School.

The Presiding Justice stated that since 1995 the Appellate Division has conducted at least one session in each of the Third Department's 28 counties and periodically at Albany Law School and Cornell Law School. He noted the sessions will continue into the future to give the public a further opportunity to observe the appellate process first hand.

For further information, please contact Michael J. Novack, the Clerk of the Court (518-471-4777).

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 4, 2008

Presiding Justice Anthony V. Cardona of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, recently announced that on December 28, 2007, the Hon. Anthony J. Carpinello of East Greenbush, Rensselaer County, was designated by Governor Eliot Spitzer as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, for a term of five years commencing January 1, 2008. Justice Carpinello has served as an Additional Justice of the Appellate Division, Third Department, since 1996.

Justice Carpinello, a graduate of Union College and Albany Law School, was a law clerk for the Third Department from 1973 to 1974. Upon completion of his clerkship, he entered private practice in Albany where he specialized in commercial litigation for 20 years. He was a Rensselaer County Legislator for eight years and an East Greenbush Town Councilman for seven years. He was elected to the Supreme Court in 1994 after serving as an East Greenbush Town Justice.

In 2006, Justice Carpinello was named by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye and then Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman as Chair of the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board.

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