2015 Rapallo Award Luncheon
Columbian Lawyers Association First Judicial Department Fiftieth Annual Rapallo Award Luncheon HONORABLE JOHN A. BARONE Justice of the Supreme Court State of New York Twelfth Judicial District April 18, 2015 The Waldorf Astoria CHARLES A. RAPALLO Charles A. Rapallo, whose father, Antonio Rapallo, was an attorney, educator, and linguist, was the first jurist of Italian American descent elected to the Court of Appeals of the State of New York. He was among the first seven judges to serve on the Court when the new state Constitution was adopted in 1869 after the Constitutional Conventions of 1867 and 1868. Sworn in July 4th, 1870 at 46 years of age, he served as an Associate Judge until his death on December 28, 1887. The first volumes of New York Reports, published during Judge Rapallo’s tenure on the Court of Appeals, contain many of Judge Rapallo’s opinions embracing a wide range of subjects and displaying the resources of a powerful mind informed by reading and reflection. In the combination of qualities which qualify an individual for the Court of Appeals, Judge Rapallo had few, if any, superiors. He possessed intellectual gifts of a high order, integrity of purpose, a calm and dispassionate temper, great good sense, a solid judgement, and these, united with learning and a power of philosophical analysis, constitute him one of the outstanding judges to have served on the Court of Appeals. Judge Rapallo was one of the dedicated lawyers and jurists responsible for the formation of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York; he was elected a member of its first executive committee.
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