JUDGE JOSEPH W. BELLACOSA:
Thank you Chief Judge Wachtler. Members of the Court and Distinguished Citizens of the City of Albany.
Yesterday afternoon as I was walking down from my office up above the Capitol to come to the Court to meet with Judge Wachtler, I ran into the Mayor of the City of Albany going out to another meeting. He said to me, "You know, my son is playing first string with Princeton and they have their afternoon game at the Yale Bowl tomorrow and would you mind reading the letter to my citizens?" I said "No." He said "Do you think the Chief Judge is going to be angry, or mind?" I said "Yes, but he'll never tell you".
So, here I am on behalf of the Mayor, and I am delighted to be in this position. He wishes he were here with you and he asked me to extend that very warm sense of his gratitude for this ceremony. He addresses his letter to the Chief Judge of the State of New York.
"Dear Chief Judge Wachtler:
"On behalf of the citizens of the City of Albany, I extend my deep gratitude and express my great pleasure that you are, this day, honoring the City of Albany on its 300th birthday. How fortunate I am as Mayor to have such a revered institution of government as the Court of Appeals within the city where I have the honor to serve.
"The New York State Court of Appeals is widely regarded as the second most influential court in the United States; and we, in local government and in the legal profession, know that in legal scholarship it is second to none. This court and this city have shared a great history together. Albany natives who have sat on the Court as distinguished jurists include John K. Porter; Rufus W. Peckham; and his son, Rufus W. Peckham, Jr. An Albanian, Robert R. Livingston, was the first Chancellor of the State. Mentioned last, because of him we are the most proud, is Albany's favorite judicial son, Francis J. Bergan.
"One hundred and forty-one years ago this month, the Court of Appeals wrote a description of judicial temperament as though it knew Judge Bergan and his fellow jurists who now grace our most distinguished Court, as if it knew them on a personal basis. 'He is what a judge ought to be, wise enough to know that he is fallible and, therefore, ever ready to learn, great and honest enough to discard all mere pride of opinion and follow truth where ever it may lead'.
"That the State of New York has had so many judges who fit this description is a tribute to a judicial system which elevates not only the law, but the men and the women who serve it. To the Court of Appeals and to the judges who serve, I speak for all citizens of Albany when I say we are honored by your presence, we seek your advice, we covet your wisdom and entreat your mercies and, above all, we hope and pray for your long and healthy service to the law and to the citizenry of the Great Empire State."
Yours truly,
Thomas M. Whalen III
Mayor of the City of Albany
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