A little less than three years ago, following the in depth look that Adam Feldman took at how infrequently women were getting the chance to argue at the Supreme Court, I took a look at how they were faring at the New York Court of Appeals. Examining the data from the 2016 arguments before the... Continue Reading →
Commission on Judicial Nomination Selects 7 Women Candidates for Court of Appeals Vacancy for the First Time in NY History
This post first appeared as a guest post on Twenty Eagle, a blog like mine devoted to covering the New York Court of Appeals. Check it out here! For watchers of the New York Court of Appeals, this is the Super Bowl. This year is the first in almost 30 years that the Court of... Continue Reading →
New York Court of Appeals Associate Judge Paul Feinman Passes Away
Just a little bit ago, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore announced that former Associate Judge Paul Feinman, who had abruptly and unexpectedly retired last week just before the beginning of the March argument session, has passed away. Chief Judge DiFiore released this statement this morning: Governor Cuomo added his condolences, releasing this statement: I am stunned.... Continue Reading →
Associate Judge Paul Feinman Announces Immediate Retirement From the Court of Appeals. What Happens Now?
In an entirely unexpected announcement this afternoon, Tuesday, March 23, 2021, just before the Court of Appeals was about to take the bench for its first in-person arguments of 2021, Associate Judge Paul Feinman announced that he was retiring from the bench effective immediately, citing health reasons. Obviously, our first thoughts are of his well-being... Continue Reading →
Court of Appeals Returns to In-Person Arguments for the March 2021 Session
With COVID cases on the decline in New York (7-day rolling average of 3.2% COVID positive tests), and in particular in the Capital Region (7-day rolling average of 2%), the Court of Appeals announced this week that it would return to in-person arguments for its March argument session that begins on March 23rd. Since the... Continue Reading →
The Fourth Department Reinstates Governor Cuomo’s COVID Restaurant Curfew, and Gives a Lesson on How to Vacate an Order Granted Without Notice Under CPLR 5704(a)
In Gallivan v Cuomo, the Fourth Department gave pandemic litigation watchers and appellate lawyers like me a little bit of everything. It was interesting when Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order against enforcement of Governor Cuomo's executive order requiring restaurants across the State to close at 10 PM to slow the spread of COVID-19.... Continue Reading →
Court of Appeals Leave Grants: September Session Through December Decision Days
For the first half of the New York Court of Appeals 2020-21 argument term, the Court granted leave to appeal in 11 cases. Unlike most years, however, this time the majority came from the upstate Appellate Division departments: 4 came from the First Department, only 1 from the Second Department, 3 from the Third Department,... Continue Reading →
New York Court of Appeals’ Year in Review, COVID-19 Edition
This article first appeared in the December 2020 edition of the NYSBA Journal, which can be found here. A direct link to the article is here. 2020 has been a year unlike any other. With the spread of COVID-19 growing in New York exponentially in March, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and the entire court system... Continue Reading →
Associate Judge Leslie Stein Announces Her Retirement Effective June 4, 2021
In a very surprising announcement, somewhat buried in the late afternoon on the day before election day 2020, Associate Judge Leslie Stein announced that she would be retiring from the Court of Appeals bench effective June 4, 2021. Judge Stein, who joined the Court on February 9, 2015, wasn't slated to reach New York's mandatory... Continue Reading →
Court of Appeals 2020 Certified Questions
In addition to leave grants from Appellate Division orders, the Court of Appeals also at times receives requests from the federal circuit courts and other state supreme courts to weigh in on issues of New York law pending in cases out of state. In particular, Court of Appeals rule 500.27(a) provides: Whenever it appears to... Continue Reading →
Court System Budget Cuts Force Appellate Division Justices Off the Bench
Even before the coronavirus pandemic hit New York, the state had a huge budget deficit to overcome. With the pandemic decreasing state revenues even further, Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced a planned $300 million reduction to the New York court system's budget. That's a very large cut, and the courts did not have a choice... Continue Reading →
