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Podcast on Event “Bad Apples in the Big Apple: Notorious Criminal Trials in New York”

July 22, 2016October 24, 2018Historical Society of the New York CourtsUncategorized, Blog, New York Legal History, Notable Cases, Public Events

This blog entry was written by John Caher, the court system’s senior advisor for strategic and technical communications. It discusses his recent interview with the Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt, President of The Historical Society of the New York Courts, and the Hon. Michael Obus, Administrative Judge for Criminal Matters in New York County. Judges Rosenblatt and Obus were interviewed by Caher for an “Amici” podcast (the court system maintains a self-produced podcast library at http://www.nycourts.gov/admin/amici/index.shtml) on the upcoming program, “Bad Apples in the Big Apple: Notorious Criminal Trials in New York.”

New York tends to do everything in a big way (often to excess), including organized crime, and its bad apples are among the rottenest in American history. At an event July 28 at the New York City Bar Association, Judge Rosenblatt will introduce and Judge Obus will moderate a unique program on the history of organized crime cases, featuring a panel discussion among trial lawyers. I was fortunate to get both judges on the line for an Amici podcast interview—and if the July 28 program is as interesting and entertaining as the judges, the audience is in for a real treat.

Here are a couple excerpts:

Judge Rosenblatt: “When you think about ethnicity, we cover the whole spectrum, and when you look at some of the baddies in the 30’s and 40’s, immediately you come to names like Meyer Lansky and Arnold Rothstein and Benny Siegel and Dutch Schultz and Legs Diamond. I think most of those guys are Jewish, and it probably reflects early immigration practices—people coming at the bottom of the barrel, so to speak, most of whom go on to live good, orderly lives, and some of whom seek the opposite direction. So, sure, all the ethnics had their turn in that department.”

Love Triangles, Death, and Doubt: People v. Gillette and An American Tragedy

July 5, 2016October 24, 2018Historical Society of the New York CourtsUncategorized, Blog

This article was written by Susan N. Herman, Centennial Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School and the President of the American Civil Liberties Union. She has spoken and written extensively on topics including law & literature, constitutional law, and criminal procedure. Her most recent book is Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of American Democracy. Prof. Herman talks more extensively about People v. Gillette in Issue 11 of The Historical Society of the New York Courts’ Judicial Notice, a journal of articles of historical substance and scholarship that uniquely focuses on New York legal history. This latest issue of Judicial Notice is ready to be shipped out and is only available to Society Members. Don’t miss out and become a member by clicking on the following link: Join the Society.

Photo: The Post-Standard, December 5, 1906. Courtesy Old Fulton Postcards, fultonhistory.com

Over a hundred years ago, a New York jury convicted Chester Gillette of a murder he may or may not have committed.

Almost a hundred years ago, a fictional jury in Theodore Dreiser’s masterful novel An American Tragedy convicted the identically initialed Clyde Griffiths of what was essentially the same crime.

For years after the Gillette trial, people debated whether or not the conviction had been just: in the words of a popular song, “only God and Gillette” knew for sure if Chester Gillette was actually a murderer. The readers of An American Tragedy are still pondering not only the justice of the verdict against Gillette’s doppelganger, but the nature of the society that shaped him.

When Chief Judge Judith Kaye invited me in 2006 to give a law and literature talk at the newly renovated Court of Appeals on the hundredth anniversary of the Gillette case, I agreed without yet knowing just how rich and rewarding it would be to compare the actual trial with Dreiser’s adaptation. The Historical Society of the New York Courts invited me to give an encore talk at the New York City Bar Association a few years later, and I was very pleased to accept the Historical Society’s recent invitation to publish a written version of my account, “People v. Gillette and Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy: Law v. Literature,” in 11 JUDICIAL NOTICE (2016).

Asian Americans and the Law

June 16, 2016October 24, 2018Historical Society of the New York CourtsUncategorized, Blog, Notable Cases, Supreme Court of the US

This article was written by Hon. Denny Chin and Kathy Hirata Chin. Denny Chin is a United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit. Kathy Hirata Chin is a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. They talk more extensively about this interesting topic in Issue 11 of The Historical Society of the New York Courts’ Judicial Notice, a journal of articles of historical substance and scholarship that focuses on legal history. This latest issue of Judicial Notice has shipped out and is only available to Society Members. Don’t miss out and become a member by clicking on the following link: Join the Society.

Photo: The Mochida Family Awaiting Evacuation, NARA, ID# 537505

Asian Americans have played a prominent role in America’s legal history. Although they have made up only a small fraction of the country’s population, Asian Americans have been at the center of many legal controversies. They have played an important role in numerous cases that have reached the United States Supreme Court, including cases involving exclusionary immigration laws, racial restrictions on naturalization as a U.S. citizen, racial segregation in public schools, and the internment of American citizens during a time of war because of their Japanese ancestry.

Historic cases can provide a window into the past, while raising issues that are still of relevance today. The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) has presented reenactments of nine historic cases involving Asian Americans. These reenactments have drawn on transcripts of court proceedings and other original documents as well as historic photographs. The reenactments have proven to be an effective teaching tool, and AABANY’s scripts have been performed all over the country, including by majority bar associations and at major law schools and universities.

The Formation of New York’s Commercial Division: A History & Memoir

June 6, 2016October 24, 2018Historical Society of the New York CourtsBlog, New York Legal History, Uncategorized

This blog entry serves as an introduction to an article written by Mark H. Alcott, of Counsel at the NYC firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP. The article about New York’s Commercial Division is included in the next issue of The Historical Society of the New York Courts’ Judicial Notice, a journal of articles of historical substance and scholarship that uniquely focuses on New York legal history. This latest issue of Judicial Notice is ready to be shipped out and is only available to Society Members. Don’t miss out and become a member by clicking on the following link: Join the Society.

Photo: Cover of Governor Mario Cuomo’s 1994 Message to the Legislature. Courtesy New York State Archives.

In the glory years of the early to mid-twentieth century, New York’s court system was the venue of choice for business litigation, much of which arose out of transaction documents mandating the application of New York law. New York State forum selection clauses were routine boiler plate in major deals. And New York’s legendary judges – Cardozo, Lehman, Fuld, Breitel, Botein et al. – took the lead in developing business law jurisprudence. But that began to change in the later part of the century, as New York’s courts became swamped with personal injury, matrimonial, criminal and like cases, leaving little time for the heavy demands of the modern business lawsuit. Business litigants voted with their feet and fled New York’s court system in large numbers.

Now, there has been a renaissance. New York once again has a sophisticated, experienced court that is handling complex commercial cases and winning the plaudits of the business community. How did that happen? This engaging memoir – by the bar leader who initiated the effort – tells the inside story of how a small group of determined business litigators collaborated with a reform-minded Chief Judge to create New York’s flourishing Commercial Division.

Jacobin Winds: Chief Justice James Kent and the Origins of the Citizenship Prerequisite for Admission to the New York Bar

June 6, 2016October 24, 2018Historical Society of the New York CourtsUncategorized, Blog, Historical Research, New York Legal History

This article was written by Craig A. Landy, a partner at NYC firm Peckar & Abramson, PC. Mr. Landy talks more extensively about this interesting and currently relevant topic in Issue 11 of The Historical Society of the New York Courts’ Judicial Notice, a journal of articles of historical substance and scholarship that uniquely focuses on New York legal history. This latest issue of Judicial Notice is ready to be shipped out and is only available to Society Members. Don’t miss out and become a member by clicking on the following link: Join the Society.

Photo: The United Irish Patriots of 1798. Thomas Addis Emmet is the fourth figure from right. Unknown artist, colored lithograph, 1798 or after. © National Portrait Gallery, London

Irish republicanism was born in the 1790s when the Society of United Irishmen sought French military support to overthrow English rule in Ireland. When that movement failed, its former leaders were imprisoned, banished and later scattered in exile across Europe and America, many landing in New York City. Their arrival sparked a nativist reaction, especially among members of the Federalist Party, who tried to limit the political mischief that they feared deported Irish revolutionaries could get into in New York.

Chief Justice James Kent, one of the few Federalists on the New York Supreme Court in the early 1800’s, branded as “Jacobins” all those who followed the French and led the effort to prevent former United Irishmen barristers from practicing law in New York, at least until they became U.S. citizens (a wait of up to five years). Continue reading

Emergence of the Common Law, the Anglo-Saxon Dooms, 601-1020 AD: The Dooms of the Kingdom of Wessex, Part 3

March 2, 2016October 24, 2018Historical Society of the New York CourtsBlog, Early Legal History, The Rule of Law, Uncategorized

The Dooms of Ethelred (978-1016 A.D.)

The thirty-eight year reign of Ethelred II is the first for which we have contemporary manuscripts containing the text of the Dooms. The king issued two sets, one known as the Woodstock (or Anglo-Saxon Dooms) (V Æthelred) and the other as the Wantage Code (III Æthelred). Both were promulgated around 997.

The Anglo-Saxon Dooms (V Æthelred), possibly issued at a meeting of the royal council at Woodstock, continued the expansion of the Crown’s legal and fiscal rights with enactments relating to currency reform, “heregeld” (a tax on the population to support the war against the Danes), and other monetary provisions. The Dooms mandated that all fines payable to the king’s reeve (sheriff) must go directly to the king (in every burh, and in every shire, shall I have the dues of my kingship, as my father had).

Wulfstan, Archbishop of York, committed the Woodstock Dooms to writing for the memory of posterity, and the benefit of men, now and in the future. Bear in mind, however, the late Anglo-Saxon scholar Patrick Wormald’s caution that:the King’s Word had permanent significance but only within the limitations of any verbal communication: that is, absolute integrity was dependent upon memory, and was subject, as such, to adjustment, both conscious and subconscious. Written legislation was a useful aid to memory, and sometimes an impressive manifestation of the civilized status of its royal author, but it was not binding, like modern statute law. Continue reading

An Evening of Law, Entertainment, Music, and Readings

February 11, 2016October 24, 2018Historical Society of the New York CourtsUncategorized, Blog, Notable Cases, Public Events

This entry was written by Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt, President of The Historical Society of the New York Courts. Judge Rosenblatt will be one of the presenters at next week’s event Litigation & Literature in the N.Y. Courts: Shaw, Shakespeare, and Sherlock on Wednesday, February 17 at 6 p.m. at The New York City Bar Association. Click here to register for this free event: http://bit.ly/litigation-literature. (CLE credit available to members of the Society)

In the world of literature, three of the most widely read are Shaw, Shakespeare, and Sherlock (Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes).

In researching whether there has been litigation associated with them, we, The Historical Society of the New York Courts, learned that the works of all three have been the subject of lawsuits of one kind or another, and so it seemed entirely apt to put on a program entitled Litigation and Literature featuring the legal disputes that surrounded these works.

Considering the long reach of these three writers, it seems entirely likely that disputes would arise over performances, rights, and contracts. We thought it would be enjoyable to plan and present an evening in which an entertainment law expert, Carol Kaplan, would discuss the litigation surrounding My Fair Lady, and with it a clip of Julie Andrews singing “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly”; Dan Kornstein, a lawyer and Shakespeare writer discuss The Bard, the litigation surrounding a staging, and some carefully chosen Shakespearean segments, and a description of the life and times of Sherlock Holmes – and the litigation over rights to the stories.

Best of all, the readings will be done by the eminent actor Paxton Whitehead, who has played or produced or directed plays by Shaw, Shakespeare, and Sherlock (Doyle).

Elizabeth Jennings and the Desegregation of Public Transportation in New York City

February 3, 2016February 2, 2021Historical Society of the New York CourtsNotable Cases, Uncategorized, Blog, Black History Month, New York Legal History3 Comments

In 1852, the Third Avenue Railroad Company obtained a franchise to construct and operate a street railway service in parts of Manhattan. The company installed steel rails in the surface of some Manhattan streets and, in July 1853, began a streetcar service consisting of carriages pulled along these rails by horses. Passengers could board or leave the carriages at various points along the route. Some carriages carried a placard “Colored Persons Allowed,” but these carriages ran infrequently and African-Americans were often permitted to board the general streetcars at the discretion of the driver and conductor, provided none of the other passengers objected.

250px-elizabeth_jennings_01 — Elizabeth Jennings Graham

On July 16, 1854, a 24 year old African-American school teacher named Elizabeth Jennings and her friend, Sarah Adams, were on their way to church when they hailed a Third Avenue Railroad Company streetcar. It did not have a placard, and the women were immediately challenged by the conductor. Elizabeth refused to disembark and the streetcar continued on its route until the conductor sighted a police officer and requested his assistance. Between them, the two men roughly removed Elizabeth from the streetcar, and she found herself on the sidewalk with her “bonnet smashed and her dress soiled.” Continue reading

Notes from South Africa: Reflections on Judge Kaye & Legal Reform

January 28, 2016October 24, 2018Historical Society of the New York CourtsBlog, Judith S. Kaye, Notes From South Africa, Uncategorized

Today we are launching a new feature on our blog. Penelope (Penny) Andrews, our Trustee (2013-2016) and continuing Trustee Emeritus, has moved back to her homeland of South Africa to assume the position of Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town. Penny is the school’s first black dean, This follows another “first” for her; prior to assuming this position, Penny was the first female Dean of NY’s Albany Law School. She is a true pioneer with a fascinating story of how she rose in the era of apartheid to become a distinguished lawyer and educator. Here are her thoughts on another noble “first,” Hon. Judith S. Kaye.

Marilyn Marcus Executive Director

(NOTE: This article first appeared in South Africa’s Business Day)

I assumed the position of dean of the University of Cape Town (UCT) faculty of law earlier in January, the school’s first dean who is black. In this capacity, as a woman, I am joining an ever-increasing number of women and people of colour who have the status of being “a first”.

I came of age as a lawyer in SA during the dark days of apartheid. I left SA during the 1980s, an inexperienced, concerned yet optimistic young lawyer. I return to SA with three years of experience as the first female president and dean of New York’s Albany Law School (founded in 1861), and decades of experience as a professor of law at law schools in the US, Australia and Canada. Continue reading

Event Recap: Chief Justice John Roberts on Charles Evans Hughes

December 8, 2015October 24, 2018Historical Society of the New York CourtsUncategorized, Blog, Public Events, Society Event Recap, Supreme Court of the US

Chief Justice John Roberts will not grow a beard. But what else do we know about him? On Friday, November 20th the Society was proud to partner with the Supreme Court Historical Society to host the 4th program in our series “Nominated from New York: The Empire State’s Contributions to the Supreme Court Bench.” This time we examined the legacy of Charles Evans Hughes through a lecture and conversation with his successor, current Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr.

Justice Roberts discussed Hughes’s legacy and tenure as Chief Justice, reflecting on the image he projected as a leader of the third branch of government. As the Wall Street Journal noted, Roberts reflected more on Hughes’s leadership role than his jurisprudence, discussing his path to the Chief Judgeship and his approach to, among other things, FDR’s court packing plan. Among other things, as the WSJ, points out, Hughes also oversaw the court’s move from the basement of the US Capitol building to its current courthouse, a move that Justice Roberts described as fitting for the court’s stature. Continue reading