| "There shall
be a Court of Appeals..."  by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye
| |
|
ON SEPTEMBER 7, 1847, WHEN THE COURT OF APPEALS JUDGES first took the Bench, the Albany Evening Journal reported
that their "well known adaption to the duties which
the people have imposed upon them furnishes a guar-
antee that whatever is brought
before them will be despatched
with proper facility, and with a
single eye to justice and right."
One hundred fifty years later,
that guarantee endures.
Birthdays are happy occasions - and all the more so at the advanced age of 150. As this volume demonstrates, we have been enjoying this banner year celebration, examining the process, the places and the peo- ple that have distinguished the Court of Appeals throughout its life. Judges Titone, Bellacosa, Smith, Levine, Ciparick, Wesley and I feel privileged, and proud, to be part of this great Court at this historic moment in its life. But anniversaries have their serious side too. As we celebrate we also learn. PROCESS, PLACES, PEOPLE
The ensuing pages show, for instance, how much the past lives in and shapes our work today. Neither life nor law in 1997 bears much resemblance to 1847 - a docket once dominated by private property disputes has been overtaken by criminal and constitutional cases, and suits against the government. Indeed, our predecessors would hardly recognize some of the issues on today's calendars, as courts have increasingly become the battlefield of first resort in societal conflicts of a distinctly modern vintage: family crises, civil rights, scientific advances touching even the definition of human life, environmental |
 Yet still in fundamental ways we build on, and endlessly continue, the excellent work of our predecessors. Nowhere is the continuity of the Court's process more visible than in the comprehensive survey of landmark decisions, prepared by Professor Stewart Sterk. To this day, these beacons of the past illuminate the pathways of the law. Continuity is evident as well in our place - our magnificent courtroom - which replicates the Court's home of the last century. I am convinced that ours is the handsomest courtroom anywhere - the most dignified, inspiring setting a lawyer might hope to encounter for the presentation |
 The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York | |
