Listen Now

The late M. Dolores Denman was a true judicial trailblazer; among her feats, she was the first woman appointed as Presiding Justice of any Appellate Division Department. In this special episode of the Judicial Notice Podcast, host Hon. Helen E. Freedman gathers three of Judge Denman's colleagues and friends — Judge Richard C. Wesley, now of the Second Circuit; Judge Eugene F. Pigott, Jr., former Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals; and Judge Erin M. Peradotto, Associate Justice of the Fourth Department, over which Judge Denman presided — to reflect on Judge Denman’s judicial philosophy, her historic appointment to the Appellate Division, and her influence on the region and the judiciary as a whole, as well as her undeniable kindness and strong leadership.

In this episode, attorney and urbanist Adrian Untermyer discusses George McAneny’s sprawling legal legacy with historian Lucie Levine and preservationist Brad Vogel, Esq. George McAneny is sometimes called “the most influential New Yorker you never heard of.” Over decades of civic activism, McAneny had an incalculable impact on planning, zoning, and preservation laws in New York and across the nation. And through his various leadership posts, McAneny can claim responsibility for helping to build the New York County Courthouse, Foley Square, and many other landmarks across Gotham. For more information on George McAneny or to get involved with ongoing attempts to honor his legacy, please visit www.georgemcaneny.com. This podcast was produced by the Historical Society of the New York Courts in partnership with the New York Preservation Archive Project, the Friends of George McAneny, Archive on Parade, and the Hon. Milton Tingling, New York County Clerk. Lucie Levine is an author, historian, and founder of educational tour company Archive on Parade. To learn more, visit www.archiveonparade.com. Adrian Untermyer is an attorney, urbanist, and historian who fights for stronger cities and communities. To learn more, visit www.adrianuntermyer.com. Brad Vogel is an attorney, poet, and Executive Director of the New York Preservation Archive Project. To learn more, visit www.bjvogel.com.

Host William H. Hinrichs chats with the Historical Society of the New York Courts’ most recent Judith S. Kaye Teaching Fellow Lauren DesRosiers on her experience teaching the course American Immigration and New York State to high schoolers in the Queens and Lower East Side Bard High School Early College campuses. Bill and Lauren discuss the unique aspect of this partnership of teaching legal history and civics through the Society’s grant at BHSEC, the challenges of online teaching, how history can help us understand the current anti-Asian hate and violence around the country, and most important of all, the students that participated in this elective course. Bill H. Hinrichs is the Dean of Academic Life at Bard Early Colleges, and Lauren DesRosiers is a practicing immigration attorney, focusing on helping queer and trans immigrants seeking humanitarian relief.

In this episode, host David L. Goodwin talks with Paul DeForest Hicks about the incredible influence of Connecticut's Litchfield Law School on the bench and bar of New York State at the founding of the nation, and how Litchfield paved the way for Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and other leading law schools of today. Paul DeForest Hicks is the author of The Litchfield Law School: Guiding the New Nation, and contributed a piece on Litchfield to Issue 16 of the Historical Society’s journal Judicial Notice, out now to Society members.

Chris Kwok talks with Hon. Randall T. Eng about his remarkable life and career, marked by a series of firsts for the Asian American community. They reminisce about Judge Eng’s early days in Queens and China, how he became interested in the law, his rise in the legal profession to become the first Asian American Judge in all of New York State, and his years after retiring from the bench. The conversation juxtaposes his incredible achievements against the backdrop of increased anti-Asian hate and violence around the country. Mr. Kwok is a Mediator and Arbitrator at JAMS and a Board Member of the Asian American Bar Association of New York. Judge Eng is currently Of Counsel at Meyer Suozzi English & Klein P.C. and the former Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department. He is also Trustee Emeritus of the Society’s Board of Trustees.

Hon. Randall T. Eng and Hon. Lillian Wan share their personal experiences as Asian American judges overcoming challenges, and provide advice to Asian American attorneys on how they too can bridge the gap. Judge Wan is a Kings County Supreme Court Civil Term Judge and member of the Society’s Board of Trustees. Judge Eng is former Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department, and currently Of Counsel at Meyer Suozzi English & Klein P.C. He is also Trustee Emeritus of the Society’s Board of Trustees.

In the United States Supreme Court, it's nine. In the United States Courts of Appeals, it's three. And in New York's Appellate Division, Second Department it's . . . four? Presiding Justice Alan D. Scheinkman talks about his article, adapted for Judicial Notice, which explores how the four-Justice appellate panel became the norm in the Second Department — and, briefly, in the First as well — and shares his thoughts on managing what is often called the busiest appellate court in the country. Justice Helen Freedman, Judicial Notice Editor in Chief, joins the discussion with insight on the First Department's practices.

Director of Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking Dr. Erica Kaufman and Dean of Bard Early Colleges John Weinstein discuss the teacher and student initiatives we partner together to produce, including teacher workshops, the Harlem Law Program, and the Judith S. Kaye Teaching Fellowship, and the rich resources the Society provides. Erica and John also discuss lessons learned during the movement to remote teaching, and what they think is in store for the future.

Host Daniel F. Loud, a student at Columbia Law School, chats with Hon. Robert S. Smith, retired judge of the New York Court of Appeals, head of the appellate practice at Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP, and former professor at both Columbia Law School and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, about his article in the Society’s journal Judicial Notice about Chancellor James Kent, one of New York’s first notable judges and the author of the Commentaries on American Law. They delve into Chancellor Kent’s views on judging, the body of “American law” that developed after the American independence, and what a judge’s role should be in changing the law. Along the way, Judge Smith also offers his views on the same issues and how judging has changed since Chancellor Kent’s time nearly two centuries ago.

William H. Hinrichs, Dean of Academic Life at Bard Early Colleges, speaks with Aaron Welt on his experience as the Judith S. Kaye Teaching Fellow at Bard High School Early College in Queens and Manhattan over the past three semesters. They chat about the importance of the Society’s grant to facilitate these civics courses that focus on the legal history of New York State, the positive effect it has on students who take the courses, and the benefits and challenges of virtual learning.

In this episode, Aisha Williams, National Director of School Culture, Great Oaks Charter Schools and a former NYC school leader of a Society partner school, chats with Jehan Senai Worthy about her experience as the Judith S. Kaye Teaching Fellow for the Society’s inaugural Harlem Law Program. The discussion delves into the successes and challenges of the program, the students feedback, and the future of education in the era of virtual learning.

Host Jacob Y. Chen, Partner at Dai & Associates, P.C., talks with Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan, a justice of the New York State Supreme Court currently assigned to the Appellate Term, First Department, about her experience as a pioneering Asian American judge in New York, and the challenges — and flat out racism — she faced on the road to and during her judgeship. Justice Ling-Cohan recounts remarkable and inspiring anecdotes from her career and offers insight on what's next for the Asian American community in the legal profession.

Historical Society of the New York Courts Trustees Dennis E. Glazer and Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt trace New York’s relationship with slavery from the early days of the colony to the climate of the nation leading up to the Civil War. The episode culminates with an investigation into the Lemmon Slave Case itself. Affirmed by the Court of Appeals in 1860, the Lemmon Slave Case illustrates how NYS law was ahead of federal in finding that slaves brought into the State were not property. This went against the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision, decided three years earlier.

Host David L. Goodwin chats with Robert Pigott, general counsel of Phipps Houses, about his Judicial Notice profiles of Elihu Root and William M. Evarts, both national figures and prominent New York lawyers—one mostly remembered (Root) and one largely forgotten (Evarts). A native New Yorker himself, Bob discusses the spark that ignited his interest in history, and examines how we can learn a lot about larger-than-life figures through New York City real estate.

Before he was a Founding Father, Framer, Justice, or international diplomat, John Jay spent seven years in the trenches as one of New York's few practicing lawyers—appearing in court, collecting on debts, and working with clients. Host David L. Goodwin talks with Hon. Mark C. Dillon, Associate Justice of the NYS Supreme Court Appellate Division, Second Department, and Paul D. Rheingold, Esq., Founder of and Of Counsel at Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo & Plotkin LLP, about John Jay's early years, and how they influenced his role as a Justice and statesman.

David L. Goodwin, current member of the Board of Trustees of the Historical Society of the New York Courts, chats with Founder & President Emeritus of the Society — and Former Associate Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals — Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt about the importance of the preservation of court records, and how we have tragically lost details of historic NY events of national importance.