| "There shall
be a Court of Appeals..." 
from the Civil List, 1889 | |
THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM of the State of New York is the
growth of the soil. It differs fundamentally, alike in spirit and
form, from the older systems of England and the Continent.
That subtle spirit which is the genius and organic principle of
institutions is in this commonwealth thoroughly radical; but in
its manifestation and working it has always been constructive
and progressive, rather than destructive or wayward. The
genius of the commonwealth required an independent
judiciary, responsible directly to the
people; but the conservatism of
growth which is as
intuitive with us as is our
radicalism of ideas,
induced a very
cautious progress
in the practical
application of the
principle. The germ
gradually and systematically
unfolded the outward organism,
until today the judicial system of New York, in
its structure and its character, is held in high regard alike in
Europe and in this country. This system, however, was a
growth and not a mechanical device.
 |
and aids, Assemblies being but an orderly method of making known the wishes of the people, and Legislatures only joint committees to prepare bills subject to his approval and the approval of the Crown. The first State Constitution took the supreme judicial function away from him, and vested it in the Lieutenant-Governor and Senate, the Chancellor and Justices of the Supreme Court. The former, under the Colonial government, had frequently been the Chief Justice, who was almost uniformly a friend of the legal rights of the people, as construed by the Whigs of England; and the Senate was the legitmate successor of the Council. The Lieutenant-Governor and Senate were elective officers, and the judicial officers were appointed; thus uniting popular control with conser vative stability. The Constitution of 1846 divided the Court, constituting a Court of Impeachments and a Court of Errors, the latter now becoming a purely Judicial body. This differentiation and development grew inevitably as any thing in nature. The Court of Appeals, as at first constituted, was [par- tially] composed of Judges selected from the Justices of the Supreme Court; but this in time was found to be cumbrous, the business of the Courts having increased to an extent to seriously interfere with the proper discharge of conflicting duties. The natural outgrowth of this state of affairs was the present Court of Appeals, with the intermediate General Term. Thus, while the system has changed, the changes have only been in the direction of a systematic unfolding of the original germ, adapting itself to the general life and order of the commonwealth. |
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|
 The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York | |
