New York Governor Eliot Spitzer renominated Chief Judge Judith Kaye to sit as the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals (see press release and hear nomination speech here).  Because of the mandatory retirement age of 70-years-old, the Chief will hold the office until 2008, if confirmed.

Why is the nomination good for New York?  I will only discuss the Chief’s role as the Chief Judge of the Court, not her administrative role.

First, Chief Judge Kaye’s experience on the Bench is crucial now that the Court has been in flux for the last several years.  Judges Read, Smith, Pigott, and soon Jones are all relatively new to the Court.  The Chief’s leadership is especially important now given that 4 Judges have not been on the Court that long.  There are nuances of the Bench that the Chief will continue to bring to this relatively new Bench.  For example, the continuance of the Court providing a strict time line of handing down decisions a month (or sometimes two) after oral arguments.  For the most part, the Chief has also been able to unite divergent viewpoint, leading to less frequent split decisions.  Not that dissent is a bad thing, but the Chief has been able to avoid a Court that issues 7 different decisions reminiscent of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Second, the Chief has worked side-by-side with a large number of amazing minds.  She has shared the Bench with Sol Wachtler, Matthew Jasen, Howard Levine, Richard Wesley, George Bundy Smith among many others.  Her experiences of working with so many great minds provides the Court with irreplaceable institutional knowledge that would be otherwise lost.

Finally, the Chief has a deep-rooted respect and interest in the Court’s history and traditions.  With so many new Judges on the Bench, the Chief’s dedicated interest to the Court’s history (i.e., her help with The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York) and tradition will not be lost.

Here is one article from the New York Times on Chief Judge Kaye’s nomination.