List of chief judges of the New York Court of Appeals
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The Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, also known as the Chief Judge of New York, supervises the seven-judge New York Court of Appeals.[1] In addition, the chief judge oversees the work of the state's Unified Court system, which as of 2009, had a $2.5 billion annual budget and more than 16,000 employees.[1] The chief judge is also a member of the Judicial Conference of the State of New York.
Chief judges before 1870
[edit]Name | Took office | Left office | Party[2] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Freeborn G. Jewett | July 5, 1847 | December 31, 1849 | Democratic | |
Greene C. Bronson | January 1, 1850 | April 1851 | Democratic/Anti-Rent | Resigned |
Charles H. Ruggles | April 1851 | December 31, 1853 | Democratic | |
Addison Gardiner | January 1, 1854 | December 31, 1855 | Democratic/Anti-Rent | |
Hiram Denio | January 1, 1856 | December 31, 1857 | Democratic | |
Alexander S. Johnson | January 1, 1858 | December 31, 1859 | Democratic | |
George F. Comstock | January 1, 1860 | December 31, 1861 | American | Elected an associate judge on the American Party ticket, by the time his term as Chief Judge began this party had disbanded, and Comstock had become a Democrat. |
Samuel L. Selden | January 1, 1862 | July 1, 1862 | Democratic | Resigned |
Hiram Denio | July 1, 1862 | December 31, 1865 | Democratic | |
Henry E. Davies | January 1, 1866 | December 31, 1867 | Republican/American | |
William B. Wright | January 1, 1868 | January 12, 1868 | Union | Elected in 1861 on the Union ticket nominated by War Democrats and Republicans; died in office |
Ward Hunt | January 12, 1868 | December 31, 1869 | Republican | Subsequently served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court |
Robert Earl | January 1, 1870 | July 4, 1870 | Democratic | Legislated out of office by constitutional amendment of 1869 |
Chief judges between 1870 and 1974
[edit]Name | Took office | Left office | Party[2] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sanford E. Church | July 4, 1870 | May 13, 1880 | Democratic | Died in office |
Charles J. Folger | May 20, 1880 | November 14, 1881 | Republican | Appointed to fill vacancy, then elected, then resigned to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury |
Charles Andrews | December 19, 1881 | December 31, 1882 | Republican | Appointed to fill vacancy |
William C. Ruger | January 1, 1883 | January 14, 1892 | Democratic | Died in office |
Robert Earl | January 19, 1892 | December 31, 1892 | Dem./Rep. | Appointed to fill vacancy |
Charles Andrews | January 1, 1893 | December 31, 1897 | Rep./Dem. | Age-limited[3] |
Alton B. Parker | January 1, 1898 | August 5, 1904 | Democratic | Resigned to run on the Democratic ticket for U.S. President |
Edgar M. Cullen | September 2, 1904 | December 31, 1913 | Dem./Rep. | Appointed to fill vacancy, then elected, then age-limited |
Willard Bartlett | January 1, 1914 | December 31, 1916 | Democratic | Age-limited |
Frank H. Hiscock | January 1, 1917 | December 31, 1926 | Rep./Progr. | Age-limited |
Benjamin N. Cardozo | January 1, 1927 | March 7, 1932 | Dem./Rep. | Resigned to become an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court |
Cuthbert W. Pound | March 8, 1932 | December 31, 1934 | Rep./Dem. | Appointed to fill vacancy, then elected, then age-limited |
Frederick E. Crane | January 1, 1935 | December 31, 1939 | Rep./Dem. | Age-limited |
Irving Lehman | January 1, 1940 | September 22, 1945 | Dem./Rep./Am. Labor | Died in office |
John T. Loughran | September 28, 1945 | March 31, 1953 | Dem./Rep./Am. Labor/Lib. | Appointed to fill vacancy, then elected, then died in office |
Edmund H. Lewis | April 22, 1953 | December 31, 1954 | Rep./Dem./Lib. | Appointed to fill vacancy, then elected, then age-limited |
Albert Conway | January 1, 1955 | December 31, 1959 | Dem./Rep. | Age-limited |
Charles S. Desmond | January 1, 1960 | December 31, 1966 | Dem./Rep. | Age-limited |
Stanley H. Fuld | January 1, 1967 | December 31, 1973 | Rep./Dem. | Age-limited |
Charles D. Breitel | January 1, 1974 | December 31, 1978 | Rep./Lib. | Last elected Chief Judge; age-limited |
Chief judges since 1974
[edit]After 1974, judges of the New York Court of Appeals were no longer elected, following reforms to the New York Constitution. Instead, an appointment process was created.[4]
Name | Took office | Left office | Appointed by | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lawrence H. Cooke | January 23, 1979[5] | December 31, 1984 | Hugh Carey | First Chief Judge appointed by the Governor under constitutional amendment of 1977; age-limited |
Sol Wachtler | January 2, 1985 | November 11, 1992 | Mario Cuomo | Resigned[6] |
Richard D. Simons (acting) | November 17, 1992 | March 22, 1993 | n/a | Acted until the appointment of a successor |
Judith S. Kaye | March 23, 1993 | December 31, 2008 | Mario Cuomo | Reached mandatory retirement age; Chief Judge with the longest tenure (more than 15 years), only Chief Judge to complete a 14-year term |
Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick (acting) | January 1, 2009 | February 10, 2009[7] | n/a | Acted until the appointment of a successor |
Jonathan Lippman | February 11, 2009[8] | December 31, 2015[9] | David Paterson | |
Eugene F. Pigott Jr. (acting) | January 1, 2016 | January 21, 2016[10] | n/a | |
Janet DiFiore | January 21, 2016 | August 31, 2022 | Andrew Cuomo | |
Anthony Cannataro (acting) | September 1, 2022 | April 18, 2023 | n/a | Acted until the appointment of a successor |
Rowan D. Wilson | April 19, 2023 | incumbent | Kathy Hochul |
See also
[edit]References and footnotes
[edit]- ^ a b Stashenko, Joel (2009-01-14). "Lippman Is Pick for Chief Judge". New York Law Journal. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- ^ a b This is the party on which ticket the Chief Judge had been elected. Where multiple parties are mentioned, the first one is the party of which the judge was a member.
- ^ The Chief Judge was elected to a 14-year term, but reached the constitutional age limit on December 31 of the calendar year in which he completed 70 years. A successor was then elected at the State election in November of that year. None of the elected Chief Judges (1870 to 1978) completed the 14-year term as such, but some Chief Judges served previously a full 14-year term as associate judge, or served more than 14 years counting the tenures as associate and chief judge together.
- ^ Peter J. Galie, Ordered Liberty: A Constitutional History of New York (Princeton University Press, 1996, p. 336–37.
- ^ Nominated on January 2, confirmed by State Senate on January 23
- ^ Goldman, John J. (November 11, 1992). "N.Y.'s Chief Judge, Charged With Blackmail, Resigns". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Law.com, Lippman Is Pick for Chief Judge, New York Law Journal (January 14, 2009).
- ^ Nominated on January 13, confirmed on February 11
- ^ James C. McKinley Jr., New York's Chief Judge Leaving a Legacy of Reforms Inspired by Social Justice, New York Times (December 29, 2015).
- ^ STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF FORMER CHIEF JUDGE JUDITH S. KAYE FROM ACTING CHIEF JUDGE EUGENE F. PIGOTT, JR., New York State Courts (January 7, 2016) (press release).