The photograph captures Chief Judge Irving Lehman during a portrait ceremony in the courtroom at Court of Appeals Hall on March 12, 1940. It is an ancient tradition that the portraits of former judges of the Court of Appeals are hung the walls of the courtroom. Lehman is shown viewing the portrait of Judge John F. O’Brien, who resigned from the Court of Appeals a few months earlier on December 7, 1939, owing to health concerns. He passed away soon thereafter on Christmas Day, 1939. As the news story below indicates, Judge John O’Brien’s portrait ceremony was attended by Governor Herbert Lehman and Lieutenant Governor Charles Poletti, in addition to Chief Judge Lehman (Herbert’s brother). Judge O’Brien served on the Court of Appeals for 12 years (1927-1939). He was son of former Court of Appeals Judge Denis O’Brien who served from 1890-1907. Only one other family can boast of a father and son that served on the Court of Appeals: Rufus W. Peckham (1870-1873) and his son, Rufus Peckham, Jr. (1886-1895).
