Making History Together
The New York State Court of Appeals
in
Albany's Tricentennial Year
The New York State Court of Appeals
in
Albany's Tricentennial Year
|
CHIEF JUDGE WACHTLER: Thank you very much, Joe. We are grateful to the Mayor. It was the Mayor, along with Lew Swyer, who is the Chairman of the Tricentennial Committee, who first visited me with the idea and concept of having this meeting in this hall. Mr. Swyer is with us here this morning, and I am delighted to welcome him. When this building was first rededicated as a courthouse, it was said that "it attests our confidence and suggests permanence — not the permanence of brick or steel or mortar, but the permanence of an ideal". And that ideal is represented in many ways, not only by the chamber and by the one statue, a statue of a person who Mayor Whalen mentioned in his letter, Robert Livingston. His statue is at the back of the court room. He was born in 1746, which was exactly one hundred years before the Constitution, which created this court, was written. He was born in Clermont, New York, and if the name "Clermont" sounds familiar to you, that was the name of the first steamship which came up the Hudson River piloted by Robert Fulton. Robert Livingston was on that steamship. It took 32 hours to come from New York City to Albany. Robert Livingston helped draft the Declaration of Independence, but he didn't hang around Philadelphia long enough to sign it. He left right after it was drawn and went to Kingston, New York, to work with John Jay, whose portrait hangs above me, to write the New York State Constitution of 1777. I have a mental picture of the two of them sitting down to decide what they would become once the Constitution was drawn, and Robert Livingston saying that "I think I will become the first Chancellor of the State of New York". Now, the Chancellor in those days was a carry over from the ancient common law English Chancellor, the conscience of the King. It was a judicial office as opposed to what it is today in our State. In that judicial office, he was a member of the highest court of the State of New York and administered the oath of office to George Washington in 1789. George Washington then appointed him as a Minister to France, in which capacity he negotiated the Louisiana Purchase. As you walk out and look at the statue, you will notice that it carries a roll of parchment in its hand — that is the Louisiana Purchase. I mentioned John Jay before; one of the reasons that the two of them related so well to one another is that they were law partners at one time. When John Jay came to Kingston, having left the Continental Congress to do so, he helped his former law partner Robert Livingston draw up the State Constitution. Again, I imagine the conversation, Robert Livingston saying to John Jay, "You should become our first governor". And John Jay saying, "No, I would rather be Chief Justice of the New York State Supreme Court". It was interesting because I recall when Governor Cuomo called me and asked if I would become Chief Judge of the State of New York, offering me that great honor, he said to me "I would rather have been Chief Judge of the State of New York than be Governor". So, in manner, history has a way of repeating itself. John Jay did become the first Chief Justice of the State of New York in 1777 and then, two years later, the Legislature sent him to Congress. The legislature found a constitutional provision which allowed Jay to serve as both Chief Justice of New York State and also a member of Congress. I imagine neither job was quite as demanding in those days. He became President of the Continental Congress, and did such an excellent job that when George Washington became President, he asked what position he would most want. And, again, John Jay, being true to his judicial calling, chose to become the first Chief Justice of the United States of America. That, too, came to be. But it should be remembered that this hero of the Revolution and author of the Federalist papers, was New York's Chief Justice, before becoming the Chief Justice of the United States. As you look about you, you look at history. Each one of these portraits tell a story, reflecting our past. You will recognize some of the names and faces. But many are from another age and time; names like Alton, Willard, Cuthbert, Rufus, Celora, and Greene. We have a presidential candidate, a couple of governors, Supreme Court justices -- each a part of the marvelous history of this state and of this court. We continue to "read the minutes of the last meeting" by hearing from some distinguished speakers. The first of whom will speak of this magnificent building. You will notice the columns and the marble. Much of it was cut in Sing Sing by prisoners. It was then put on barges and taken up the Hudson River and then brought up State Street by ox cart. There is a story told, and I'm sure it is apocryphal, that as the building was being built and as the marble was being sent from Sing Sing, one of those prisoners had his case come to this Court on appeal. It should have been an easy reversal. But one of the colleagues of that day said, "If we reverse his conviction and let him free, who will finish the marble in the rotunda?". And that's how the entry "Affirmed, no opinion" came about. That, of course, as I said, is an apocryphal story but, to tell us now the real story of this historic court room, it is my privilege to introduce John Mesick, a noted Albany architect and acknowledged expert on the work of H.H. Richardson, who designed this room for the Court, a chamber which was originally in the Capitol building. John has quite recently completed a study for the Court of the court room, and a survey of the number of and condition of the pieces of Richardson furniture which are in our possession. It is my great privilege to introduce to you John Mesick. |
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 The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York | ||
