Swan song for chief judge
Judith Kaye, New York’s first woman and longest serving chief judge, will deliver her final annual State of the Judiciary report tomorrow in Albany. Kaye is stepping down Dec. 31 because she is “aging out” of the judicial system, which has a mandatory retirement age of 70.
As leader of the state’s highest court for 15 years, Kaye has ruled on cases that put an end to the death penalty in New York and required the state to pour billions more dollars into the New York City school system. She has been unsuccessful, however, in securing pay increases for the judiciary. Lawmakers, who traditionally align their pay hikes with those of judges, have not taken up the cause. Judges’ pay has not increased since 1999. Judges have filed a lawsuit to force the Legislature into approving raises. The suit is pending.
Kaye, a native of Sullivan County, speaks at 1 p.m. She will be at New York University to deliver her address, which will be webcast.
A commission has been charged with vetting potential successors and recommending seven names to Gov. David Paterson by Dec. 1. The governor will announce his pick by mid-January.
(National Archives photo.)
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she has done a great job…but who will take her place
jonathan lippman….or someone from the app div
Great Job? She sued the state during a recession in which many are losing their jobs to advocate for higher judicial salaries? Wrong time, wrong place, wrong issue…