News Archive
Law School Faculty Pay Tribute to Chief Judge Kaye
01/11/2016
Chief Judge Judith Kaye of New York City died January 7. She was the first woman to be named to the highest court in New York state and the first to serve as chief judge, and it was a position she held longer than any of her male predecessors.
Chief Judge Kaye delivered the James P. White Lecture on Legal Education at IU McKinney in 2011.
“She was a warm and kind person,” Professor White said. “Several months before the White Lecture, she was honored at a reception at the American Bar Association annual meeting. I attended and to my surprise she recognized me and urged people to attend the White Lecture. She, like Justices O’Connor and Ginsberg, was a trailblazer. I was privileged with their friendship.”
Professor Norman Lefstein, dean emeritus of IU McKinney, also was a friend and colleague of Chief Judge Kaye.
“In my field of interest pertaining to public defense services for the indigent in criminal and juvenile cases, Chief Judge Kaye will long be remembered for appointing a blue ribbon commission in New York to study the problems in her state in providing defense representation for the poor,” Professor Lefstein said. “In 2006, the New York State Commission on the Future of Indigent Defense Services issued its final report. Usually the report, which has had an important impact in New York State, is referred to simply as the ‘Kaye Commission Report,’ and it continues to be cited as the blueprint for improving New York’s policies in providing legal representation for the indigent.”
In addition to her legal acumen, Professor Frank Sullivan praised Chief Judge Kaye’s administrative skill.
“Chief Judge Kaye supervised the $2.5 billion, 16,000-employee New York court system, a task to which she gave an enormous measure of her energy and creativity,” Professor Sullivan said. “Her efforts in this regard brought about countless reforms and improvements, many of them emulated throughout the nation, including here in Indiana. She also gave generously of her time in many professional and academic settings over the years, including at our law school. On these occasions, her keen insights and warm personality enriched her audience.”
Chief Judge Kaye presided over the seven-member Court of Appeals for nearly 16 years, in addition to supervising the court system statewide. She was appointed to the court by then-Governor Mario Cuomo in 1983.
