Although New York adopted the Declaration of Independence at a meeting of the Fourth Provincial Congress in White Plains on July 9, 1776, it was not until November 25, 1783 that British troops finally departed from New York. In the midst of the ongoing war, New York drafted and adopted its first constitution, and set up a functioning government.
First Constitution
The New York State Constitution of 1777 continued the English statutory and common law then in force in the Province of New York, provided that it did not conflict with the State’s constitution. In 1788, chapter 46 of the laws enacted that year rendered English statutory law invalid, providing that “none of the statutes of England or Great Britain shall operate or be considered as laws of this State.” The common law was unaffected by this provision, and the State’s second constitution, adopted in 1822, stated that “such parts of the common law and the acts of the legislature of the colony of New York would continue unless altered or repealed or found unconstitutional.”
New York Case Law Develops
Looking at cases decided in those first 70 years, we can see how the New York judiciary resolved the issues encountered by the nascent State. The impact of the War of 1812 and the growing importance of international relations is readily apparent. Case law from this time shows the ongoing chilling effect of criminal libel actions on political speech, and controversies arising from slavery and colonial land tenure continued to populate court dockets. Judicial resolution of cases associated with New York’s growing industrialization and rapidly-developing technology (canals, roads, steamboats and railways) enabled commerce to thrive.
The State and the Nation
The Bench and the Bar included men of outstanding intellect and achievement, who made a tremendous and lasting contribution to the State and the Nation. In their capable hands, jurisprudence developed through the arguments lawyers presented in court and the judicial decisions that resulted. New York’s involvement in the development of the legal framework of the new nation, the ratification of the Federal Constitution and the drafting of Bill of Rights was significant and of lasting value.
Important Cases
Animal Law
Comity of Laws
Conflict of Laws
Court Jurisdiction
Criminal Law
People v. Mather, 1830
1830
4 Wend. (N.Y.) 229 21 AmD 122 3 Wend. 431 (1830) Juror Disqualification In 1826, William Morgan of Batavia, New ...
People v. William Freeman, 1846
1846
4 Denio 8 (1847) First Use of the Insanity Defense in the United States John Van Nest, a wealthy farmer, ...
Eminent Domain
Employment Law
Family Law
International Law
Military Law
Public Property — Streets
Slavery
Evidence — Scientific
Tort Law
Seditious Libel
Courts of the Era
Probate Court, 1778-1823
1778-1823
The Probate Court was established in 1778. Initially, it exercised the prerogative powers of the colonial Governor but later its ...
Circuit Courts, 1786-1895
1786-1895
In 1786, the Justices of the Supreme Court of Judicature were directed to hold sessions of the Circuit Court in ...
Surrogate’s Court, 1787 to Present
1787-1846
The Surrogate's Courts are statutory courts that were established by chapter 38 of the Laws of 1787. The Surrogate’s Court, ...
Court of Oyer and Terminer, 1788-1895
1788-1895
In 1788, the justices were required to convene criminal courts (Oyer and Terminer) during the terms of the Circuit Court ...
The Marine Court of the City of New York, 1807-1883
1807-1883
The Marine Court was initially known as the Justices’ Court and was established in New York City in 1807. In ...
The Superior Court of the City of New York, 1828-1894
1828-1894
In New York City, bank failures and the conspiracy cases of 1826 caused severe calendar congestion in the Supreme Court ...
Judges of the Era
New York Supreme Court of Judicature
John Cozine
1798
1738-1798 Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court of Judicature, 1798 John Cozine, born in 1738, was a New ...
Morgan Lewis
1801-1804
1754-1844 Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court of Judicature, 1792-1800 Chief Justice, 1801-1804 Morgan Lewis was the son ...
John Lansing, Jr.
1801-1814
1754-1829 Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, 1790-1798 Chief Justice, 1798-1801 Chancellor of New York, 1801-1814 John Ten Eyck Lansing, ...
Smith Thompson
1802-1818
1768-1843 Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court, 1802-1814 Chief Justice of New York, 1814-1818 Born on January 17, ...
(Henry) Brockholst Livingston
1802-1806
1757-1823 Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court of Judicature, 1802-1806 (Henry) Brockholst Livingston, the son of Governor William ...
Daniel D. Tompkins
1804-1807
1774-1825 Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court of Judicature, 1804-1807 Daniel D. Tompkins was born in Westchester County, ...
History of the Supreme Court
Duely & Constantly Kept: A History of the New York Supreme Court, 1691-1847
New York Chancellors
Important Figures
New York Attorneys General, 1777-1846
Matthias B. Hildreth
1808-1812
1774-1812 Attorney General of New York, 1808-1810; 1811-1812 Matthias Bernard Hildreth was born in 1774 in Southampton, Long Island. His ...
Thomas Addis Emmet
1812
1764-1827 Attorney General of New York, 1812 Thomas Addis Emmet was born in Ireland on April 24, 1764, the son ...
Martin Van Buren
1815-1819
1782-1862 Attorney General of New York, 1815-1819 Martin Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782 in the village of ...
John Woodworth
1819-1828
1768-1858 Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court, 1819-1828 John Woodworth was born on November 12, 1768 in Schodack, ...
Thomas J. Oakley
1819-1821
1783-1857 Attorney General of New York, 1819-1821 Thomas Jackson Oakley was born on November 10, 1783 near Poughkeepsie, New York ...
Ambrose Spencer
1819-1823
1765-1848 Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court of Judicature, 1804-1819 Chief Justice, 1819-1823 Justice Ambrose Spencer was born ...
District Attorneys, 1777-1846
Notable Attorneys
John Van Ness Yates
1779-1839
1779-1839 John Van Ness Yates was born on December 18, 1779 in Albany, New York, the son of Robert Yates, ...
Harmanus Bleecker
1779-1849
1779-1849 Harmanus Bleecker was born in Albany, New York on October 9, 1779. He received a classical education and was ...
William H. Seward
1801-1872
1801-1872 William Henry Seward was born in Florida, New York on May 16, 1801. He was educated at the Farmers' ...
Charles O’Conor
1804-1884
1804-1884 Charles O'Conor was born on January 22, 1804, in New York City, the son of a rebel who fled ...
About the Period
New York Constitutions of 1777 & 1821
The New York Constitution of 1777 (Courtesy NYS Archives)
The New York Constitution of 1777 (Transcript)
The New York Bill of Rights of 1787
1801 Constitutional Amendments
New York Constitution of 1821 (Transcript)
Excerpts from Charles Z. Lincoln’s Constitutional History of New York
Courtesy the New York State Library
Commentary on the 1st NY Constitution
Commentary on the 1787 Bill of Rights
Commentary on the 1801 Amendments to the NY Constitution
Commentary on the 2nd NY Constitution
Other Constitutional Commentaries
The New York State Constitution, 2nd Edition, by Peter J. Galie & Christopher Bopst (London: Oxford University Press, 2012)
New York and the Ratification of the Federal Constitution
The United States Constitution, New York’s Ratification Statement and Instructions to the New York Delegates & Transcript
An Empire of Reason (Video)
A Rein on Government: New York’s Constitution of 1777 and Bill of Rights of 1787 by John P. Kaminski, New York Legal History Vol. 1, No. 1 (2005)
New York State’s Role in the Creation and Adoption of the Bill of Rights by Betsy L. Rosenblatt, New York History (October 1991), pp. 407-420
(The definitive work on New York’s ratification of the Constitution is: The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution: Ratification by the States: New York, Volumes XIX-XXIII, edited by John P. Kaminski et al (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2005))