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Chicago-Kent Law Review 1998 Symposium Commemorating the Two Hundredth Anniversary of Chancellor Kent's Ascension to the Bench
Judith S. Kaye[*] It is my distinct pleasure to be a part of this symposium on Chancellor James Kent, whose name stands securely alongside the giants of the law.[1] At this school, which bears his name, you understandably feel a special connection to Chancellor Kent. As Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of the State of New York—our state's highest court—I too feel a special connection to him. Chancellor Kent's portrait hangs directly over my shoulder as I sit on the bench of our magnificent courtroom in Albany.[2] Every day during the Court's sessions, he looks out on attorneys presenting issues that were unimaginable 200 years ago when he took the bench, yet he unquestionably contributed greatly to their resolution. In the words of a tablet placed at the Court of Appeals in Kent's honor seventy-five years ago: "He gave to the Common Law in its new home fresh vitality and power. He moulded from feeble precedents a noble system of equity jurisprudence and marked the line of its growth for Commonwealth and Nation."[3] Who is this man, and what—apart from his widely-known Commentaries on American Law—was his contribution to the development of the law? I propose, in the succeeding sections, to answer these questions.
Footnote *: Chief Judge of the State of New York; Chief Judge, Court of Appeals of the State of New York. I am indebted to my Law Clerk Jeremy Feinberg—a fine lawyer and genuine history buff—for his superb assistance in the preparation of this article. Our efforts were immeasurably enhanced by the extraordinary research talents of the Court of Appeals Librarian, Frances Murray, Esq. Footnote 1: See Hampton L. Carson, James Kent: Picture of Man as Lawyer, Judge and Author, 7 A.B.A. J. 662, 662 (1921). Footnote 2: The walls of our courtroom are lined with portraits of former judges of the Court. Chancellor Kent's is one of the few non-Court of Appeals judge portraits there, although as a former Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court (a predecessor of our Court), a Chancellor, and a scholar whose works are important to New York law, he is surely part of the Court of Appeals family. The portraits—including portraits of John Jay, Egbert Benson (Kent's mentor and New York's first Attorney General), and the five men other than Kent to hold the title of Chancellor—in a sense represent a comprehensive history of New York State jurisprudence. Footnote 3: Francis Bergan, The History of the New York Court of Appeals 1847- 1932, at 11 (1985).
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 The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York |
