Anthology and Writing & Thinking Workshop: Justice
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Bard High School Early College Writing and Thinking Workshop 2010 Justice All there is to thinking is seeing something noticeable, Which makes you see something you weren’t noticing, Which makes you see something that isn’t even visible. - Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It Bard High School Early College is grateful for the support of The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York in developing the 2010 anthology and Writing & Thinking Workshop: Justice. We thank the Printing House Press for its generous donation of the printing of this anthology for use by BHSEC students. About The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York: As the new century dawned, then-New York State Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye had the vision to create an organization that would collect and preserve this State’s legal history. It would showcase the New York connection to our founding fathers and their contributions to the U.S. and New York State constitutions and the nation's developing democracy. It would breathe life into the history of our State's prominent legal figures, its rich legacy of court cases, and its magnificent courthouses. The Society was thus born, nurtured by a terrific partnership with Albert M. Rosenblatt, then an Associate Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals. Judge Kaye recently reminisced about how, for her, the birth of this idea was linked to the 150th anniversary of the New York State Court of Appeals. She recalled how in 1996, as this important anniversary neared, she gazed at the portraits looking down at her in the courtroom and wanted to know more about each of the judges. She requested a list of her predecessors on the bench, with their dates of service, and was amazed to discover that none existed. Calling upon Frances Murray, the ever-resourceful Chief Legal Reference Attorney of the Court of Appeals, to look into this matter, Frances confirmed that the list was nonexistent. One day shortly thereafter, Judge Kaye arrived at her office to find a huge stack of photocopies that Frances had made of the inner front pages of each of the New York Official Reports since 1847. Each contained a record of the then- sitting Court of Appeals Judges for the period of that Report. From these photocopies a complete record of the Judges of the Court of Appeals from 1847 to 1997 was meticulously assembled. This newly minted list was included in a publication for the 150th anniversary celebration. From that incident came the realization that New York State’s court history needed to be preserved, and the idea was planted for the formation of a Society to do just that. Here’s what’s ahead for the Society in 2010: The Society will be joined by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman in partnering with the Robert H. Jackson Center, based in Jamestown, New York, and The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. to present a program to be held at the New York City Bar on May 11th that will explore the breakdown of the rule of law in Nazi Germany and lessons learned. An exciting series of programs is also in the works Cover Image: Appellate Division Courthouse, 25th Street and Madison Ave., New York City, from the Digital Collection of the New York Public Library 1 with the Supreme Court of the United States Historical Society exploring New York’s contributions to the United States Supreme Court Bench. The New York State Museum of Legal History is under construction. The Society is working with the Court of Appeals on an exciting project to design a museum showcasing the legal history of our State. It will be housed in Centennial Hall near the Court of Appeals in Albany. In its own short life, the Society has produced an impressive list of publications. In 2007, it published an important reference work on our legal history, The Judges of the New York Court of Appeals: A Biographical History. This is a comprehensive guide to 160 years of the legacy of the court and features original biographies of 106 Chief and Associate Judges, edited by Judge Rosenblatt. The Society has also published Historic Courthouses of the State of New York: A Study in Postcards by Julia and Albert Rosenblatt, featuring rare postcard images of county courthouses throughout the State along with narratives of notable trials, anecdotes, and the history of each county. Currently in production is a book of essays by prominent Dutch and American scholars on the Dutch influence on jurisprudence in this State and the nation, again edited by Julia and Albert Rosenblatt, to be published by SUNY Press, titled Opening Statements: Law and Jurisprudence in Dutch New York. The Society also regularly publishes Judicial Notice—a scholarly journal with articles by noted authors as well as gifted amateurs with a love of the subject—on the rich diversity that is our State’s legal history. Finally, we publish a calendar each year that is a fun way to spend a moment or two each month of the year glimpsing an aspect of legal history. This year, our theme is Justice, Courthouses, and Towns Along the Erie Canal. Since history can be just as important when spoken as when written, we have embarked on an initiative to record the oral history of legal luminaries in this State. Each of these interviews has proved to be an intimate and informative exploration of our legal history by those who have lived it. To date, we have interviewed Judges Joseph W. Bellacosa, George Bundy Smith, Albert M. Rosenblatt, William Thompson, and Milton Mollen, as well as Hazard Gillespie and Norman Goodman. The annual David A. Garfinkel Essay Contest invites SUNY and CUNY community college students from across the State to write an original essay on specified topics of legal history. In 2009, awards totaled $1,500. The 2010 topic is The Evolution of Justice Along the Erie Canal. We are very pleased to offer our support to Bard High School Early College so that students may explore the exciting and thought-provoking issues involved in determining justice and applying the rule of law. We hope it will impart a better understanding of how our courts work and why they are so important to the democratic process. 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