Regular Session - March 17, 1993
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9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 March 17, 1993
11 3:08 p.m.
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14 REGULAR SESSION
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18 SENATOR HUGH T. FARLEY, Acting President
19 STEPHEN F. SLOAN, Secretary
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The
2 Senate will come to order. Senators will find
3 their places.
4 Will you please rise for the
5 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
6 (The assemblage repeated the
7 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 Today, in the absence of clergy,
9 we'll bow our heads for a moment of silent
10 prayer.
11 (A moment of silence was
12 observed. )
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY:
14 Secretary will begin by reading the Journal.
15 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
16 Tuesday, March 16th. The Senate met pursuant to
17 adjournment, Senator Daly in the chair upon
18 designation of the Temporary President. Prayer
19 by the Reverend Vincent Gordon of Bethany Chapel
20 of Brooklyn, New York. The Journal of Monday,
21 March 15th, was read and approved. On motion,
22 session -- on motion, Senate adjourned.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Hearing
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1 no objection, the Journal will stand approved as
2 read.
3 The order of business:
4 Presentation of petitions.
5 Messages from the Assembly.
6 Messages from the Governor.
7 Reports of standing committees.
8 We have a report of a standing
9 committee. Senator Mega, chairman of the
10 Judiciary Committee.
11 SENATOR MEGA: Thank you, Mr.
12 President.
13 From the Executive Chamber dated
14 February 22nd, 1993: To the Senate: Pursuant to
15 the provisions of Section 2 of Article VI of the
16 Constitution and the provisions of subdivisions
17 (2), (3) and (4) of Section 68 of the Judiciary
18 Law, I hereby nominate as chief judge of the
19 Court of Appeals, Judith Smith Kaye, of New York
20 City, to fill the vacancy caused by the
21 resignation of Sol Wachtler. Signed, Mario M.
22 Cuomo, Governor.
23 Mr. President, this is the report
1126
1 to the full Senate that the Judiciary Committee
2 met this morning for approximately three hours
3 and took testimony relative to the qualifica
4 tions of Judge Judith Smith Kaye, and before I
5 report completely on what occurred at the
6 committee meeting, at this time, I would like to
7 yield to Senator Cook for the purpose of moving
8 the nomination.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
10 Cook for the purpose of nomination.
11 SENATOR COOK: Mr. President,
12 thank you very much.
13 Going to start out by taking some
14 exception to what I think some of my colleagues
15 might be saying, which is that this is a histor
16 ic occasion because we are confirming the first
17 woman as chief judge of the Court of Appeals,
18 because auspicious as that may be and certainly
19 is, the real important thing is that we are
20 confirming the best candidate that could be
21 found for that office. That woman -- that
22 person happens to be a woman, and she happens
23 also, Mr. President, if I may indulge in a bit
1127
1 of parochialism, to be a native of the 40th
2 District and, in the tradition of -- following
3 in the tradition of another native of not only
4 the 40th District but, indeed, the same village
5 of Monticello, of Judge Cooke, Judge Lawrence
6 Cooke, who also I had the privilege of
7 nominating some years ago.
8 So this is a real double
9 privilege for me, and I want to tell you, Judge
10 Kaye, before I launch into this formally, that
11 there is a real celebration going on in
12 Monticello, in Sullivan County, at this time.
13 It's not the kind of thing that is fireworks and
14 popping champagne corks necessarily, but there
15 are a lot of people who know you personally and
16 who hold very warm memories and thoughts of you,
17 and who, within their hearts, are celebrating,
18 and within the conversation of the community are
19 celebrating this great occasion with you.
20 As I indicated, Judge Kaye was -
21 is a native of Monticello, graduated from high
22 school in that community, and then moved on to
23 other locales to pursue her legal career,
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1 attending college at Barnard College and later
2 attending New York University Law School. She
3 nevertheless is a distinguished favorite
4 daughter of Sullivan County and of Monticello,
5 and Judy Smith is a person who is held in -
6 with great warmth in the thoughts of many people
7 down there.
8 It serves little purpose probably
9 to dwell upon Judge Kaye's legal qualifications
10 since they are so well known. I wanted to share
11 just a couple of personal thoughts for a moment,
12 that I found out this morning in talking with
13 her that she and I share some common experi
14 ences. Both -- we are both farm -- farm kids,
15 born on farms in adjoining counties, and we also
16 attended one-room schoolhouses and, as chairman
17 of the Education Committee, I find it's
18 interesting that the chief judge indeed can be a
19 product of a one-room school which is -- she and
20 I are probably ones of the very few people of
21 our general age category who share that
22 background.
23 But Judge Kaye indeed is a
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1 distinguished jurist. She has been an active
2 and respected participant in formulating the
3 legal opinions of the Court of Appeals since her
4 original appointment in 1983. Her sharp mind is
5 evidenced by her questioning of the parties and
6 her grasp of the issues that are central to the
7 cases which appear before the court, and her
8 votes on the court have been motivated by a
9 respect for the law and for precedents and by a
10 reading of the Constitution that is strongly
11 steeped in personal individual rights.
12 Mr. President, out of custom, I
13 will briefly recite some of Judge Kaye's
14 remarkable biography, but I would preface this
15 reading by saying that the thing that really
16 matters is her deep personal traits of
17 intelligence, of dedication and integrity, and a
18 life that has been devoted in equal balance to
19 her public duty and to her family
20 responsibilities.
21 As I said, Judge Kaye graduated
22 from Monticello High School as Judith Smith
23 then, graduated from Barnard College, later
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1 enrolled in New York University Law School. She
2 was associate editor during her law school
3 career of the Law Review, graduated cum laude in
4 1962. She became a litigation associate and
5 then later a partner in Olwine, Connelly, Chase,
6 O'Donnell & Weyher in the year 1969. Prior to
7 that, she was an assistant to Dean Niles at the
8 New York University Law School, worked for a
9 year with the IBM corporation, and had worked
10 for a time with Sullivan & Cromwell, another New
11 York City law firm.
12 Judge Kaye is married to Stephen
13 Rackow Kaye, himself a New York attorney, I be
14 lieve a native of Rockland County. Their chil
15 dren, Lisa, Jonathan and Gordon, have disting
16 uished themselves in a variety of ways, ranging
17 from law to engineering to linguistics to sports
18 management. In fact, she tells me at this point
19 that one of her children is in Europe skiing and
20 the other one is in Europe playing -- playing
21 hockey. So they indeed are very active people.
22 Judge Kaye's service in a variety
23 of prestigious panels and positions is document
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1 ed in a list which occupies an entire page and
2 which I will not, mercifully, read to you at
3 this time, but which all the members have
4 available to them, and her list of published
5 writings is of equal length.
6 In one newspaper column which
7 dwelt on Judge Kaye's personal characteristics,
8 one lifetime friend is quoted as speculating as
9 to "how her soft voice would be heard in a
10 courtroom." Mr. President, I predict that not
11 only will her voice be heard in the courtroom
12 and in courtrooms across the state of New York,
13 but indeed they will echo across this nation as
14 she will be even better known as a distinguished
15 scholarly and compassionate administrator and a
16 leader for this, one of the greatest courts in
17 the nation over which she will preside.
18 Thank you.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
20 Mega.
21 SENATOR MEGA: Yes. Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 A second on the nomination, and
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1 Senator Cook has said it all so well, and really
2 covered what had to be said about the new chief
3 judge or soon-to-be chief judge of the Court of
4 Appeals of the state of New York.
5 Knowing that the Governor once
6 played baseball, I likened this situation to a
7 baseball game. The judiciary is losing three to
8 nothing in the top of the ninth, and up comes
9 Mario Cuomo to bat, and he hits a home run with
10 the bases loaded and wins the game, and that's
11 what I believe the Governor has done in this
12 situation. He's hit a home run with the bases
13 loaded at a time when we need the kind of
14 leadership that Judge Kaye will bring to the
15 court.
16 Merit, experience, ability, human
17 decency, intellectual scope, they are the
18 characteristics we look for in a chief judge,
19 and from all that I've heard during the process
20 and all that I've learned about Judge Kaye, she
21 possesses all of these characteristics.
22 The Judiciary Committee met, as
23 I've indicated, for almost three hours this
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1 morning and took testimony and made the kind of
2 record that is to be made when we do something
3 of such importance that affects all the people
4 of the state of New York in such really a
5 personal way, even though many of them may not
6 realize that until some day they might come into
7 contact with the judicial system.
8 So I think we do an extremely
9 important thing today by confirming a judge who
10 has the outstanding qualifications and
11 credentials to lead the Court at a very serious
12 time. It's well known that Judge Kaye was on
13 President Clinton's short list for the position
14 of U. S. Attorney General. Many have said that
15 her stated preference to remain in the Court of
16 Appeals is the President's loss and our gain,
17 and I certainly agree with that.
18 Leadership, as I've indicated,
19 surely is a crucial one at this period of time
20 in the history of this great court, and it is a
21 great court, for the Court of Appeals is a
22 judicial body that has been known more in the
23 words of one observer for its consensus than
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1 contentiousness and, based on all that I've come
2 to know and all that the members of the
3 Judiciary Committee have come to know about
4 Judge Judith Kaye, she promises to continue to
5 be that way when she becomes the chief judge.
6 Again, it was loud and clear from
7 the testimony that you are a leader, you are a
8 scholar, you are a student of the law, and there
9 was some concern about the leadership aspect
10 but, after listening to the testimony, the
11 Committee is well satisfied, and I'm certainly
12 well satisfied that you will bring the kind of
13 leadership needed in the Court at this very
14 crucial, crucial time.
15 So I thank all the members of the
16 Judiciary Committee, the ranking minority
17 member, Senator Leichter, and all of the members
18 that participated to make the system work, and
19 it does work. You know, sometimes there's an
20 indication that maybe we should be more like the
21 federal system. I say nay. I say that our
22 system is better, and it's stronger than the
23 federal system, because we have not politicized
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1 it. We have taken the best and have put the
2 best on the Court of Appeals and that's what
3 we've done in nominating and confirming shortly
4 the new chief judge of the Court of Appeals.
5 We have not "Borked" anybody. We
6 have not tried to make anybody look bad during
7 the confirmation process, because that's not
8 what it's about. What it's about is getting the
9 best qualified person to sit on that court and,
10 in this instance, we have done that. So I am
11 proud to be part of this process.
12 I second the nomination of the
13 new chief judge of the Court of Appeals, Judge
14 Judith Smith Kaye, and I wish you and your
15 family well, and I say I wish for you and your
16 family what I wish for myself and my family,
17 continued success and, most of all, good health,
18 good health; and any way that I, as chairman of
19 the Judiciary Committee, can be helpful in your
20 new duties, I certainly would try to be.
21 Congratulations.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
23 Nolan.
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1 SENATOR NOLAN: I'm going to be
2 brief, because I have a throat that makes it
3 very difficult for me to speak today and a lot
4 of people probably think that's pretty good.
5 But, Judge, I just first want to
6 take the opportunity to congratulate Mario Cuomo
7 on naming Judith Kaye to this great position as
8 chief judge of the Court of Appeals.
9 It's been said before, but it
10 certainly was a tremendous choice. Judith Kaye
11 has been a brilliant lawyer, a great judge. She
12 has written some tremendous opinions. She has
13 -- her writings really are some of the sharpest
14 writings that I personally have seen in the
15 Court of Appeals in many, many years.
16 And so, although the fact that
17 Judge Kaye is a woman is certainly a historic
18 first, but even more important she was the best
19 qualified person to become the chief judge of
20 this Court of Appeals.
21 She follows a -- comes from a
22 very illustrious place, Monticello, New York.
23 My -- one of the three senior law partners in my
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1 law firm, Richard Weiner, who comes from an old
2 family down in Monticello, and he said to say
3 hello to you, Judge, so Joe Wasser, there's been
4 so many great people from down there, and you
5 certainly -- are certainly not the least but
6 moved to the front of all of these great folks
7 from Monticello.
8 I also want to point out that
9 Judge Kaye also happens to be a woman for all
10 seasons. Lo and behold, last summer I was part
11 of an official delegation of the city of Albany
12 to the city of Verona, and lo and behold, who
13 wound up going to the opera one night with us,
14 it was Judge Kaye and her husband, and she
15 certainly is a great fan of opera, and I know
16 you'll continue that as well as being a great
17 judge.
18 So I'm pleased and happy to
19 second this nomination, Judge, and God bless and
20 Godspeed, and I know you'll do a great job in
21 leading this court forward.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
23 Smith.
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1 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, Mr.
2 President.
3 Since her appointment as
4 associate judge to the Court of Appeals in 1983,
5 Judge Kaye has illustrated her clear
6 understanding of the law, and she has helped
7 shape the judicial protocol of the state and has
8 enlightened the court's decisions with her
9 unique and vibrant persona.
10 Judge Kaye is clearly one of the
11 most astute jurists in this country. She has
12 the credentials, temperament and the vision to
13 lead the New York State Court of Appeals into
14 the next century.
15 I applaud Governor Cuomo for
16 making this nomination. I applaud all of you
17 for voting for Judge Kaye, and I know that she
18 will represent all of the people of the state of
19 New York, but especially the majority, the women
20 of the state, who are extremely proud of you and
21 we hope to be here behind you in every way
22 possible.
23 Congratulations!
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
2 Galiber.
3 SENATOR GALIBER: Thank you, Mr.
4 President.
5 I rise to join my voice with my
6 colleagues who have so many good things to say
7 about this candidate.
8 I had the -- the Governor and I
9 don't always agree, Mr. Chairman. From time to
10 time, we go in different directions. Every now
11 and then, though, he does some good things and
12 we are glad then to support him. This is one of
13 the better things that he has done.
14 This justice of our court, soon
15 to become judge -- chief judge of the Court of
16 Appeals, as I listened to the comments this
17 morning, and I knew them all along, all those
18 good things that were said, some nine and a half
19 years ago I had the opportunity to hear some
20 things that led me to believe that nine and a
21 half years later, they would certainly be better
22 than they were then. Such things as compassion
23 which you don't hear often in the judicial
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1 branch of government, even-handed treatment, and
2 this young person who brings so much dignity to
3 our court, an even-handed administrator, that's
4 what she will be, an even-handed administrator,
5 as she metes out justice in the state of New
6 York.
7 Love of people, dignity, some of
8 our communities that I come from where they give
9 persons extra credit for life experiences. They
10 give them so much credit in college because of
11 what they've done in their life experience.
12 Judge Kaye has so many qualifications just in
13 life experiences, which is rare in our judicial
14 process or branch of government.
15 I had an opportunity to question
16 Judge Kaye, no, just to make some observations
17 because I don't think any of us really
18 questioned her. I mentioned at the end that she
19 had been instrumental, along with the last
20 appointment, and that was Bundy Smith converted
21 me from a merit -- back to a merit system, not
22 back to a merit system but to a merit system
23 which I had some doubts about before because
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1 I've been around long enough to know that some
2 20-odd years ago, when you mentioned merit,
3 merit was used to exclude people, not to judge
4 their qualifications. So I have been
5 converted.
6 I talked to Judge Kaye this
7 morning about some troubled areas, recognizing,
8 of course, as we all know that racism in our
9 judicial system is alive and doing well and
10 pointing up that, as a result of the former
11 justice, judge, chief judge of the Court of
12 Appeals, who recognized and was sensitized also,
13 asked for some report, the Franklin Williams
14 report, and a couple of other task forces, which
15 meant that things weren't happening in our
16 judicial system as they should be, and she
17 assured us that she would carefully, carefully
18 take all those factors into consideration and
19 she could do that with ease because being the
20 person that she is, with that experience that
21 she has had, the outside experience, this living
22 experience, assured me that she will be fair and
23 just and careful as to who is picked as
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1 administrator for her to see to it that some of
2 the troubled areas that she is aware of will be
3 resolved.
4 So I am happy that our system is
5 working. I was privileged to meet some good
6 friends this morning, old friends, and I want to
7 take this opportunity, Mr. Chairman, to thank
8 you for running such a great judiciary, as you
9 have since you've been the chairperson. I was
10 honored and privileged to be your ranking
11 minority at one time, but Franz Leichter came
12 and pushed me out a little bit, and that was
13 O.K., because it came in good hands.
14 But I had an opportunity to
15 reflect back, John Marchi, Senator Marchi, and
16 Dick Bartlett, who was there saying good, kind,
17 honest things this morning; Judge Hugh Jones
18 again, who I was privileged to serve with on the
19 Jones Commission -- that was a knee-jerk
20 reaction to the Attica situation -- and a few
21 others.
22 So, Judge Kaye, I'm very happy
23 for you, and I'm happy for your family and, most
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1 of all, I'm happy for the people of the state of
2 New York, your coming on board.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
4 Ohrenstein.
5 SENATOR OHRENSTEIN: Mr.
6 President, I'd like to yield to Senator Leichter
7 who is the ranking member on Judiciary, for the
8 purpose of seconding this nomination.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
10 Leichter.
11 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. President,
12 I'm happy to join my colleagues here in second
13 ing this nomination.
14 As much as a confirmation, this
15 is also a celebration. It's a celebration
16 because it's a historic moment. We're about to
17 confirm the first woman as chief judge of the
18 state of New York. Unfortunately, it took us
19 some 200-plus years to reach this point and,
20 unfortunately, we've only had one woman serve as
21 an associate justice, and that happens to be
22 indeed the person that we're about to confirm as
23 chief judge. But this is a step forward, a
1144
1 significant step forward.
2 It's also a celebration because
3 we're filling this post with a person of
4 outstanding qualifications. We are really,
5 indeed, fortunate that we have found somebody
6 with the excellent credentials of Judge Kaye.
7 Make no mistake about it. This is a very, very
8 special appointment. This is a special person.
9 This will be an outstanding chief judge, and I
10 think that's particularly important because we
11 had as predecessor an outstanding chief judge.
12 And it must be said, and I think we all very
13 much feel the pain and the tragedy which created
14 the vacancy, and sometimes when you have a
15 situation with that pain one doesn't talk about
16 it, but I would hope that there would be an
17 occasion where we as a Legislature as well as, I
18 would hope, other segments of our society, the
19 bar and so on, would celebrate the outstanding
20 work that Judge Wachtler did, and irrespective
21 of whatever may have happened, the fact is that
22 he was an outstanding chief judge, and that
23 needs to be recognized and makes it all the more
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1 important that we have found somebody who will
2 carry on in the same outstanding tradition.
3 And let me say the style may be
4 different, and I'm sure that Judge Kaye will
5 bring to this position her own method, her own
6 manner, but nobody should make any mistake that
7 she will have that commitment, that conviction
8 and that fight for those issues and those
9 matters that are important for the judiciary,
10 just as Judge Wachtler did.
11 You've heard of the outstanding
12 record that she has had as a member of the bar,
13 as a member of the Court of Appeals. She brings
14 intelligence; she brings clarity, candor, a
15 succinctness. I just want to say that she
16 exhibited at the hearing today an ability to
17 answer questions in a very simple, clear,
18 understandable manner. There are some judges
19 whose skill or profundity is based on the fact
20 that nobody understands what they say, so the
21 belief is that they must be very profound. This
22 is a judge whose skill is to be very clear, and
23 what makes her profound is the fact that you can
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1 understand what she says.
2 Let me say that I know that she
3 is an extremely hard worker because of a
4 personal experience I had. Unaccustomed as I am
5 to get to my office early, I did so this morning
6 and I look in the hall and I see two people
7 walking around. They looked a little lost. I
8 figured they were constituents complaining about
9 the budget; and no, indeed, it was Judge Kaye
10 and her husband who, if he hasn't been
11 introduced yet, I'm sure will be, a
12 distinguished member of the bar. They were
13 looking for some legislators to shake hands
14 with. None of us were around that early. But I
15 think that's the sort of work ethic she's going
16 to bring to the position and, indeed, that she's
17 exhibited.
18 This is also a celebration
19 because we celebrate how well the system works
20 for choosing our judges of the Court of
21 Appeals. We have really had the outstanding
22 bench in the United States, and the merit system
23 has worked exceptionally well. It's brought
1147
1 really the best that we have to offer to this
2 very important court, and we certainly do that
3 today. We bring the very best to be the head of
4 that court, the chief judge.
5 I'm delighted to second the
6 nomination of Judge Judith Kaye for chief judge
7 of the state of New York.
8 Thank you.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
10 Ohrenstein, you still have the floor.
11 SENATOR OHRENSTEIN: Mr.
12 President, I'm delighted to join in Senator
13 Leichter's seconding of this nomination and
14 delighted to be here to participate in this
15 very, very important moment in the history of
16 the state of New York, and I'd like to say a
17 couple of things. I want to talk a little bit
18 about the nominating process here. I want to
19 talk a little bit about the Court of Appeals
20 and, obviously, I want to talk about Judge
21 Kaye.
22 First of all, I think once again
23 this nomination and the process that was follow
1148
1 ed in the wake of a very great governmental and
2 personal tragedy vindicates the process which
3 this Legislature set in motion some five or ten
4 years ago. We are an outstanding example in
5 this state of a non-partisan merit selection
6 process with regard to the Court of Appeals.
7 I wish I could say that we've
8 followed that process with regard to all
9 judicial nominations but, as the ways of the
10 Legislature and of politics may be, we have not
11 reached that point yet. But we certainly can be
12 very proud here, on a non-partisan basis, of the
13 process that is being followed here and that has
14 been followed with regard to the Court of
15 Appeals for some decade and a half. It is
16 non-partisan. It is a merit selection process.
17 It has produced some of the finest judges we
18 have ever had on this bench, and it has
19 produced, in my opinion, the finest court in the
20 country.
21 So that I think it bears saying,
22 and I said it when Judge Bundy Smith was -- came
23 here for confirmation, because it was again an
1149
1 example of a process that reached out and was
2 able to produce a very, very fine nominee and
3 again, here in a very crucial, very difficult
4 time, we come to the fruition of the process in
5 terms of the nomination and of -- and the
6 appointment of a highly highly qualified
7 individual. So that we should be very proud of
8 it, and perhaps we will all learn something from
9 it and begin to strengthen that process and to
10 extend it to other parts of the judiciary.
11 Secondly, I want to say something
12 about the Court of Appeals, our Court of
13 Appeals, and this is a little bit political and
14 please forgive me because I know that some
15 people on the other side of the house may
16 disagree with some of this, but we have been
17 through a decade -- over a decade in the United
18 States, of struggles about our judicial system
19 and I'm referring to the struggles -- the very
20 political and ideological struggle that has
21 taken place in this country with regard to the
22 Supreme Court of the United States. We can, at
23 one and the same time, be extraordinarily proud
1150
1 of our system, because our system has prevailed
2 during very difficult times and has functioned
3 during very difficult struggles that were
4 political and ideological, and on the question
5 of merit, on the question of some of the most
6 moving and profound issues that this country has
7 been faced with.
8 But in -- in that struggle, in
9 those struggles institutionally, we are set up
10 with a series of checks and balances between the
11 three major portions of government, and the
12 court system is one of them, and the Supreme
13 Court of the United States, of course, is the
14 most important court in the country and has the
15 power to determine some of these very, very
16 profound issues.
17 There are many of us who have
18 found the Supreme Court wanting from time to
19 time. As I said before, that's a -- that is a
20 conclusion which obviously there is some -- a
21 lot of disagreement on, but at least it ought to
22 be said that that was the case and that, as a
23 result of the way the Supreme Court has
1151
1 functioned over the last 10 or 15 years, or
2 maybe even 20 years -- I can't count the
3 years -- there has been a profound disagreement
4 with the -- with the way that court has gone and
5 in the way that court has dealt with some of the
6 very profound issues before it, and -- but no
7 one can gainsay that the court functioned
8 legally and according to the dictates of our
9 system.
10 The reason I say this is not to
11 get into a political controversy, but during
12 that time the Court of Appeals of the state of
13 New York was and became the bellwether court of
14 this country, because when the Supreme Court in
15 its wisdom began to walk away from some of the
16 decisions it had put into place some decades
17 ago, whether they related to civil rights or
18 civil liberty or to the function of the federal
19 system or to the function of the system of
20 checks and balances in our system, when that
21 court took a certain position which at least
22 some people in this country disagreed with, it
23 was the Court of Appeals of this state who,
1152
1 again and again, examined and re-examined these
2 decisions, these issues, as they came before it
3 on a case-by-case basis, and exhibited a wisdom
4 and a profound understanding of the mandates and
5 the imperatives of the American system of
6 democracy which were parallel to none.
7 So we can be extremely proud that
8 during that decade and a half or for however
9 many years, it was this court, and it is this
10 court that discharged that responsibility to the
11 people of this state and made an example to the
12 people of this country as to where judicial
13 opinion and judicial policy should go.
14 I dare say that, as the new
15 Supreme Court or as the changed Supreme Court
16 begins to evolve during this administration and
17 subsequent administrations in Washington, we're
18 going to find that the United States Supreme
19 Court will be following and citing as precedents
20 many, many of the opinions that have been
21 written by this Court of Appeals over the last
22 two decades, and that they will begin to follow
23 some of the ground that was plowed by this Court
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1 of Appeals.
2 So I believe that we have every
3 reason to be proud of this court and to be proud
4 of the position this state as a result occupies
5 within the judicial system and within the
6 development of judicial policy and governmental
7 policy as enunciated by this court.
8 The reason I say all of this is
9 because it is extraordinarily important that, in
10 the wake of the tragedy facing us here, that
11 this court continue in that fashion and it has,
12 not only before but during the terrible events
13 which have played out here during the last four
14 months, and most important that it continue to
15 be a court which -- which follows and displays
16 the wisdom and the judgment and the discretion
17 that this court has done over the last several
18 decades, and that is why this particular
19 nomination is historic and of extraordinary
20 importance, because we are not just selecting
21 another associate judge of the Court of Appeals,
22 as important as that position is. We are here
23 voting on the chief judge of the Court of
1154
1 Appeals and, in our system, that chief judge is
2 not only a member of the Court of Appeals, but
3 is also a powerful supervising administrator of
4 the court system as a whole and, therefore,
5 needs to have the qualifications to discharge
6 that job as well.
7 And, in that regard, I, too, want
8 to join with my colleagues in congratulating the
9 Governor, in congratulating first of all the
10 nominating commission, for coming up with a
11 series of very, very wise and very effective
12 judges, but most of all for having put into the
13 picture as a suggested nominee that of Judge
14 Judith Kaye, an associate judge, presently
15 associate judge of the Court of Appeals, and I
16 want to join in congratulating the Governor for
17 having the wisdom to select her as the nominee
18 that he chose to forward to us for confirmation,
19 because I can't think of anybody that has come
20 under consideration for this position that could
21 discharge the responsibilities that I just
22 alluded to than -- better than Judge Kaye.
23 Her qualifications and her
1155
1 history has been talked about by others on this
2 floor, so I don't certainly have to enumerate
3 those, but what is important to say and the
4 reason I'm pausing a little bit, because I'm
5 trying to phrase this happily and
6 diplomatically. I would say what is most,
7 perhaps, proof of the pudding here, that we all
8 know that Judge Kaye, not by her own design but
9 by the design of people whose wisdom is -- goes
10 beyond that of the state of New York, had come
11 under consideration during this period for
12 another position which, by historic accident,
13 became very controversial. And so let's all
14 accept the compliment in terms of this state,
15 that it was Judge Kaye who was obviously under
16 consideration by our new President for Attorney
17 General of the United States.
18 I have no knowledge of the facts
19 any more than the rest of you do except by what
20 I read in the newspapers, but I assume the
21 newspapers weren't entirely wrong, and I would
22 dare say that had Judge Kaye chosen to play in
23 that game -- and I don't know whether it was
1156
1 offered to her or not; only she knows that, and
2 the President knows that -- but had she entered
3 that game, that she probably would have been
4 taken away from us and would now be serving in
5 that position. But I consider it an enormous
6 compliment that, for whatever reason, that Judge
7 Kaye chose to remain here at her post during
8 this very important time and chose this as the
9 preferred route for public service which she is
10 now engaging.
11 So, as I said before, I think we
12 -- there is no one who could have been better
13 qualified or is better qualified for this very,
14 very enormously important position during this
15 time.
16 Finally, I have to say
17 personally, I've known Judge Kaye for some years
18 and her husband, who joins her in the gallery.
19 She is a constituent of mine, and she's even a
20 neighbor in -- on the West Side of Manhattan.
21 And so I am personally delighted, both in terms
22 of merit and the very profound historic
23 opportunity we are now discharging.
1157
1 I'm also personally delighted on
2 behalf of myself and my family, and our
3 neighborhood, for seeing Judge Kaye here today
4 and for being able, with great joy and in
5 celebration, to cast this vote in the
6 affirmative.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
8 Stafford.
9 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr. President,
10 I was very fortunate a number of years ago.
11 Judge Kaye had just been appointed to the Court
12 of Appeals, and she gave the commencement where
13 I attended with she and her husband. I was not
14 only impressed by her eloquence but also her
15 reasonable brevity. We have problems with that
16 here, Judge, but we'll -- we're working on it.
17 I have to say that I was here too
18 when we changed the law as far as the Court of
19 Appeals members being appointed or elected. Of
20 course, they're now appointed, and I, too, agree
21 that this certainly is an example of the system
22 working very well.
23 I also am impressed by the
1158
1 members of the judiciary who have supported
2 Judge Kaye's appointment, as has been indicated
3 here today by Judge Jones on her left, and the
4 presiding justice of the Appellate Division,
5 Third Department, Judge Weiss, here today and we
6 all know, and again everyone should be
7 complimented, as has been mentioned, that we
8 have a chief justice who will serve in the same
9 manner as Learned Hand, Benjamin Cardozo, and
10 continue to make the Court of Appeals of the
11 state of New York the finest court in the
12 nation.
13 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Larkin.
14 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, Mr.
15 President.
16 I had the privilege of
17 representing Sullivan County for a number of
18 years with my good colleague, Senator Cook, and
19 I heard the judge's name mentioned about how she
20 used to come home and how the people in Small
21 wood always thought about her in the store and
22 there was always that warmness, and it was
23 always that roots coming home, understanding,
1159
1 compassion, concern.
2 Since this opening took place a
3 few months ago, some of those people that I call
4 constituents called me and said, Don't forget
5 her. She's not just a lawyer. She's just not a
6 person on the bench. She is a responsible,
7 dedicated, committed person.
8 When you talk about roots, I
9 remember when I came to the Senate body, my
10 91-year-old aunt, I called her and told her I
11 won. Her comment was, Don't forget where you
12 came from. And I think that's what we're saying
13 about this charming lady.
14 But I think one of the things
15 I've heard here today is we've made great
16 strides. We now have a woman as our chief
17 judge. Being the proud father of two daughters,
18 I would rather say we made history, that's
19 right; we prevailed, and the best candidate, not
20 a woman among women, but a candidate among
21 candidates, not breaking ice but ensuring that
22 the person that was going to lead that court was
23 the best qualified.
1160
1 You know, we were fortunate in
2 the Hudson Valley. We had Judge Cooke, and what
3 a wonderful successor down the line. I think
4 that those of us in this chamber and the people
5 in the state of New York, and especially us in
6 the Hudson Valley who know of her background and
7 her concern, and have had a chance to understand
8 her rationale and reasoning for why and what,
9 clearly understand that today this confirmation
10 is of an individual who is the highest
11 qualified, the best qualified, and the only
12 qualified.
13 Congratulations.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Marchi.
15 SENATOR MARCHI: Mr. President,
16 Senator Mega justifiably pointed with pride to
17 his staff and to the members of the Committee
18 and reflected a feeling that he must have sensed
19 flowed from the members of that Committee on the
20 way in which he presided and conducted the
21 hearing that we had this morning and, indeed,
22 the entire process as he likes to refer to it.
23 The felicitous underlying fact,
1161
1 of course, also enhanced the pride which we all
2 felt because he was working and passing on a
3 candidate of unusual merit, and it was a very
4 felicitous matching of consideration going to an
5 eminently qualified candidate for the position.
6 In piecing together the mosaic
7 that makes up Judge Kaye, there are many ele
8 ments, many pieces; and allusions and references
9 were made to professional qualifications,
10 professional acuity, the intelligence, mastery,
11 judgment, so many different factors, and to that
12 have to be added, I believe, broad-gauged taste
13 and educational background. These tastes have a
14 -- not a capital "C", catholicity, a broad
15 gauged grasp of moral values, cultural values,
16 and they enhance the entire process, because the
17 most prosaic and pedantic consideration in the
18 world may contain a lot of wisdom, but unless it
19 is animated and it is given dimensions that we
20 can embrace, that engages the hearts as well as
21 the souls of people, it is not going to be as
22 operative and make a difference. And all of
23 these factors were there.
1162
1 You had the family, the family
2 being cut from the same bolt of cloth because
3 they brought in so many different tastes and
4 interests that reinforced and gave life to
5 anything that they addressed and, in her case,
6 this single devotion when it came to public
7 responsibility in defining issues that were very
8 important to all of us.
9 Senator Galiber and myself shared
10 some of our deeply felt concerns with her, not
11 that it's going to lead to anything, not with
12 the expectation that it would conform to our
13 deeply felt concerns, but it was a dialogue
14 which we felt better in sharing it with her, and
15 I'd like to feel that she felt the same way in
16 receiving commentary and observations.
17 So I know that we're only a silly
18 millimeter apart, Senator Ohrenstein, and you
19 were projecting your "druthers" and I was
20 projecting mine, but I think both of us, both of
21 us know, both of us know and draw comfort from
22 the fact that judgment, intelligence, character,
23 these factors all come together so that we both
1163
1 -- we both could draw considerable comfort
2 knowing that you will be there and caring for it
3 in your accustomed manner, and this I feel
4 institutionally adds to the strength of this
5 state.
6 People say, well, gee, you're
7 walking in on a very difficult situation, and
8 all of us are in the middle of a very difficult
9 situation. But the call is very special, so the
10 opportunity, if we look at it not as a -- as an
11 obstacle to be overcome but as an opportunity to
12 make that difference, in the face of great,
13 great challenges, then indeed it -- I think we
14 all mutually interact in circumstances such as
15 these to draw strength from it and we certainly
16 -- you certainly have our prayers and our hopes
17 and everything that -- and our best wishes, you
18 and your family, that you will draw comfort from
19 the proceedings here today, and that you -- when
20 you look to us, that you will be looking to a
21 resource, a resource of comfort and of strength
22 in carrying out your awesome responsibilities.
23 I join my other colleagues to -
1164
1 to move this confirmation, a most felicitous
2 one, as I pointed out earlier.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Mendez.
4 SENATOR MENDEZ: Mr. President,
5 it is with great pride that I, as a woman, stand
6 up here today to also second the nomination of
7 this brilliant woman, Judge Judith Kaye, to be
8 the chief of the Supreme -- to be chief judge of
9 the Court of Appeals.
10 I will not talk about her
11 brilliant mind and brilliant legal career. I
12 will not talk about any of those issues. I just
13 want to mention, Mr. President, that one word
14 has been used, another great one to describe
15 what we're doing here today, and that is that
16 this is a moment in history. This is historic
17 and I, for one, think about all those brilliant
18 young women presently studying in all the
19 various law schools throughout the nation
20 contemplating the possibility of making a
21 contribution in the -- in the legal field, that
22 they will be looking upon Judge Kaye as the
23 model, the role model to follow because -- and
1165
1 the best that any young lawyer could aspire to
2 and that is a tremendous contribution.
3 We know that, even though in
4 today's world, one-third of the women who go to
5 law school, that finally are admitted and about
6 one-third of the graduates of law school are
7 women, we know that, but still we also know that
8 there are great barriers because today -- I love
9 all you guys -- it is still a man's world. So
10 that women do have greater barriers to go
11 through to obtain their goals.
12 I hope, and I know that Judge
13 Kaye will make all of us, not only women, but
14 all you residents of New York State and of the
15 nation proud, will make us proud of her judicial
16 -- judicial temperament and rational decisions
17 that she'll be making there.
18 But I hope that she -- I know
19 that she must know about that famous report that
20 came out of the Governor's Task Force on Judi
21 cial Diversity that has great recommendations as
22 to what both parties in the state of New York
23 should do to ensure that greater, greater
1166
1 representation, opportunity be given to Puerto
2 Ricans, African-Americans and Hispanics and
3 women and other protected classes to obtain
4 positions within the judiciary, and I hope that
5 in some way and I figure that if she, in some
6 way, will be able to, she will try to also
7 outside her immediate legal work that she might
8 also contribute there, because that situation,
9 for the benefit of all must eventually be
10 changed.
11 Finally, I really want to
12 congratulate Governor Cuomo and Senator Mega and
13 the members of the Committee and the process by
14 which Judge Kaye was selected. You know, it's
15 very funny, and I think so many times, Mr.
16 President, when I was elected to serve in this
17 great chamber, I became a member of the modern
18 courts, something or other, and I was very -- I
19 have always been very hopeful that that is the
20 best way that we should follow to be sure that
21 judges are, in fact, separated from the reach of
22 us politicians.
23 Well, that system has worked with
1167
1 the Court of Appeals. However, that system, in
2 my view, and I am very ambivalent about it -- I
3 never felt that I would be, but I am very
4 ambivalent about it -- that system is not
5 working that well in terms of providing genuine
6 opportunity for Puerto Ricans, African-Americans
7 and other minorities to become judges in the
8 city of New York and in the state of New York.
9 And so we must revise this
10 situation. These commissions always end up
11 finding a way not to submit names of minorities
12 that are also highly qualified to make a
13 contribution within the judicial system, but
14 since it goes for the Court of Appeals, we'll
15 rejoice in Judge Kaye's appointment, and we also
16 know that at last -- at least that system of
17 merit selection of judges has, in fact, once
18 more done an excellent job in -- in choosing the
19 highest qualified person that could possibly
20 serve there.
21 Congratulations, Judge Kaye.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
23 Dollinger.
1168
1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 I rise, I guess, for what I call
4 a very uncommon moment at least in my ten weeks
5 of experience in this chamber and, your Honor,
6 with all due respect, it really doesn't involve
7 some of the other issues that have been talked
8 about here.
9 What I find uncommon is that both
10 sides of the aisle have sung the praises of our
11 next chief judge. I'd like to talk -- first of
12 all, I'd like to commend Senator Mega for the
13 handling of the hearing with respect to Judge
14 Kaye. It seems to me that both handling the
15 hearing and handling the issues was very, very
16 well done and, as I said, is an uncommon event
17 that we, as the members of this body who tend to
18 have contentious moments, came together on this
19 nomination.
20 I want to talk, your Honor, just
21 about the common man, my startling question to
22 you on the common law, in what I think is a very
23 common moment, and that is the issue of
1169
1 nominating and approving a chief judge of the
2 New York Court of Appeals. It is something that
3 this body has done before, but it's unusual when
4 this Legislature gets the opportunity to elect
5 someone to something else. Usually we're in the
6 business of electing ourselves or electing our
7 peers, and we come together today to elect
8 someone to a coordinate branch of government, to
9 elevate someone in our system of checks and
10 balances between a legislative branch, an
11 executive branch and a judicial branch. We hold
12 the power to name that other branch of
13 government, and it seems to me that -- and I
14 will depart slightly from my colleagues who have
15 talked about the issue of gender because, for
16 me, that's not an uncommon factor.
17 For me to celebrate gender over
18 competence is to downplay the very skills that
19 have brought you to this day. They have been
20 sung by others. I won't sing them at any
21 greater length here, but I do want to touch on
22 the issue of the common man, the part of this
23 common law question that I asked you.
1170
1 My colleagues, Senator Galiber
2 and Senator Mendez, I think, talk about the
3 evolution of the common man as we've known it in
4 this country. Look around this chamber and
5 you'll see a different face on the common man.
6 It might not even be a man; it might be a woman,
7 might be a member of a minority, an African
8 American, a Puerto Rican, other minorities.
9 Our notion in this state of the
10 common man is changing. Our system of justice,
11 our system of common law, has to change too.
12 When I asked you the question about the common
13 law, and you said you were startled, I -- I only
14 wanted to emphasize that many of us in this
15 chamber believe that we make the law in this
16 state. We hold the power to make the law.
17 Those of us who have studied the law, studied
18 the tradition of law, realize that we are late
19 entrants into the business of creating law, that
20 it is common law courts, common law judges
21 applying the wisdom of their own experience and
22 their sense of fairness to a set of facts that
23 have generated the major portion and the major
1171
1 development of our system of law in this
2 country.
3 It's my hope, as I suggested in
4 the hearing today, that you will take the common
5 law as others have done before you, and that you
6 will drive it forward again to the next
7 century. Don't be afraid that the common law
8 may go too far. We hold the power in this
9 branch to tell you that you've gone too far if
10 that's what we determine. Take the common law,
11 make sure that it addresses the fundamental
12 issues of fairness for the growing and evolving
13 common man.
14 And lastly, it's my hope to you
15 that, as you take the mantle of the judge and
16 don the robe, that you won't let the burdens of
17 that system which too often we rely on for true
18 justice or true fairness, that you won't let the
19 burdens of that system overwhelm you personally
20 or overwhelm the court that we all revere.
21 When you see problems, don't
22 hesitate to say, This is an issue that deserves
23 legislative attention. Don't hesitate to be a
1172
1 product to force those of us who should be
2 looking out for the common man's interest to
3 make sure that we better represent him. It's my
4 hope that the solutions will both come from here
5 and be brought here.
6 I welcome you as the chief judge
7 of the New York Court of Appeals. As a member
8 of the coordinate branch of government, it's my
9 proud moment to -- my uncommon moment for me to
10 cast a ballot both in your favor and in favor of
11 this court and in favor of the system that we
12 all hold so dear.
13 Congratulations and good luck.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Farley.
15 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Mr.
16 President.
17 Justice Kaye, as a father of two
18 lawyers that are married to two lawyers, and as
19 a law professor and a lawyer, what a distinct
20 pleasure and honor it is for me to support this
21 nomination.
22 When I was in law school, I saw a
23 study that showed that there were less women
1173
1 lawyers than any other profession. Today in
2 almost every law school, the classes are equally
3 divided. And what a thrill it is for New York
4 State and for this chamber and for our Governor
5 to have appointed a woman to the generally
6 recognized premier and leading state court in
7 the nation; and, Judith Kaye, you were a pioneer
8 without a doubt as a lawyer and as a woman.
9 You, through your remarkable
10 career and how you progressed to where you are,
11 you make everybody proud, everybody in the legal
12 profession. The legal profession, as we all
13 know, is sometimes criticized, particularly this
14 body, and all the lawyers that serve here, but I
15 think it's an honorable profession and, as we
16 get more and more women that are rising stars
17 within our profession, maybe our entire image
18 will improve.
19 I am particularly proud to
20 support this nomination. Your competence is
21 even more significant than your sex, and let me
22 say that may your tenure be blessed with the
23 luck of the Irish in that you are being
1174
1 confirmed on St. Patrick's Day.
2 Congratulations.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Sheffer.
4 SENATOR SHEFFER: Mr. President,
5 for several reasons, it's a source of great
6 pride for me to join in supporting and in
7 celebrating the confirmation of Judge Kaye as
8 chief judge.
9 Many Senators have paid tribute
10 to the extraordinary legal talent and judicial
11 temperament and personal dedication of Judge
12 Kaye. I want to speak to a slightly different
13 dimension of Judge Kaye's stewardship for this
14 state.
15 Over the last several years, I've
16 been privileged to serve with Judge Kaye and
17 several others on the Regents Visiting Committee
18 for the State Archives. When I was first asked
19 to serve on that body, I, frankly, assumed there
20 would not be enough caffeine on this planet to
21 keep one awake during meetings on the state
22 archives. As a result of the really exceptional
23 contributions of Judge Kaye and people like
1175
1 former Regent Chodos, that has been for me an
2 exceptionally interesting and productive
3 experience.
4 Last June, all of you voted in
5 this chamber for creation of a State Archives
6 Partnership Trust, which was a real tribute to
7 the work that Judge Kaye and that committee has
8 done.
9 My point is to say that, in
10 addition to her extraordinary tenure on the
11 Court of Appeals, Judith Kaye is the type of
12 person who has lent her talent and commitment
13 and time to efforts for this state that are
14 apart from her judicial role, and I think that's
15 something to be applauded by this house.
16 To his credit, Governor Cuomo has
17 brought great respect and pride to the state of
18 New York with the nomination of Judge Judith
19 Kaye, and it's an honor for me to join in urging
20 her confirmation.
21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Onorato.
22 SENATOR ONORATO: Mr. President,
23 I rise to join my colleagues, and I heartily
1176
1 concur with everything that was said today about
2 her. I'm just going to recite a quote my father
3 told me when I was getting into politics, not
4 being an attorney: Learn to say a little bit
5 that means a whole lot.
6 So I'm going to quote from an
7 unknown source I heard this morning at a
8 confirmation hearing, that I am thrilled from
9 the top of my head to the tip of my toes that
10 you have been nominated, and I second the
11 nomination to your position.
12 Good luck and good health.
13 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
14 Hoffmann.
15 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, Mr.
16 President.
17 I rise with great pride to second
18 the nomination and join my colleagues in con
19 gratulating Judith Kaye on this memorable
20 occasion. Like everybody in this chamber, I am
21 thrilled to be here for this historic moment not
22 only because Judith Kaye is the first woman to
23 assume this august position but also because she
1177
1 is the most qualified individual under
2 consideration for the position, and I have a
3 rather secret fondness here that in speculation,
4 Judith Kaye may have actually had the
5 opportunity to take a federal appointment but
6 she decided that she would prefer to wait things
7 out and hope for this appointment instead.
8 Regardless of what the history
9 was in the national limelight and what the
10 history was in this arena, it is most certainly
11 our gain and the nation's loss that she's in New
12 York State, but we should be enormously proud to
13 have this opportunity.
14 My only regret is that Judith
15 Kaye was not able to be one of the justices
16 sitting on the recent reapportionment hearing
17 that we had. I wonder if our outcome might have
18 been a little bit different had she been one of
19 the voting members in that decision, and I look
20 forward to outstanding decisions in the years to
21 come.
22 Congratulations, Judy!
23 THE PRESIDENT: Unless there is
1178
1 any other Senator that wishes to speak, the
2 question occurs on the confirmation of the
3 nominee. All those in favor, say aye.
4 (Response of "Aye.")
5 Opposed nay.
6 (There was no response. )
7 The ayes have it. The nominee is
8 confirmed. Congratulations.
9 (Standing applause.)
10 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Daly.
11 SENATOR DALY: Mr. President, I
12 rise on behalf of a resolution that was
13 presented at the desk and, if I could have it
14 presented to the house.
15 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
16 will read the title.
17 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
18 Resolution Number 709, by Senator Daly and
19 others, honoring St. Patrick and all persons of
20 Irish heritage upon the occasion of the 1993
21 celebration of St. Patrick's Day.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Daly is
23 recognized, and there will be order in the
1179
1 chamber.
2 SENATOR DALY: Mr. President,
3 this is the second year in a row I've been
4 privileged to carry this resolution, and I still
5 do it with enthusiasm, high spirit, but with
6 sadness, because when I look at this resolution
7 realize I'm carrying before the house, I can not
8 help but think back to a dear departed colleague
9 who carried this resolution for so many years
10 and, of course, I'm talking about our dear
11 friend, Senator Jim Donovan.
12 I feel very proud that I'm able
13 to succeed Senator Donovan in carrying this
14 resolution, and instead of having it read in its
15 entirety, because you've heard it before, I
16 thought I'd just look upon the idea and concept
17 of St. Patrick's Day, where it came from and why
18 we have it and what it means and really, when
19 you think about St. Patrick's Day and the fees,
20 the celebration, not the fees, but the
21 celebration of St. Patrick's Day, if you look
22 back at its beginning, you realize that truly it
23 started as an attempt of immigrants, by
1180
1 immigrants I should say, from a small and
2 persecuted island to try to demonstrate publicly
3 their presence in this great country and their
4 deserving of the same rights and privileges of
5 every other American, and sometimes we forget
6 that at that time there was a sign prevalent
7 through the this country, "Irish need not
8 apply," and it's to the credit of this nation
9 and this people that they have grown and pros
10 pered in this great nation of ours, and my
11 mother, God rest her soul, who came from Ireland
12 I always remember when I would sit down, Mr.
13 President, and complain about the food and my
14 mother would look and say to me, "Shut up and
15 thank God your father took the boat."
16 And I do thank God my father took
17 the boat because it gave me the opportunity to
18 live in a nation that knows no second in the
19 history of mankind, namely, our great country of
20 America.
21 But what started out really as an
22 attempt by the Irish to say we're here and we
23 deserve has gone beyond that, and you know,
1181
1 really, the St. Patrick's Day that we celebrate
2 today, it doesn't know any racial, doesn't know
3 any religious or national bounds.
4 St. Patrick's Day literally has
5 become a spirit and look at the celebration that
6 we have here in Albany. We have the Ohrensteins,
7 and we have the Cuomos, and we have the Marinos
8 and we have the Markowitzes, and we have the
9 Galibers who, by the way, I might announce Mr.
10 Chairman, has accepted, Mr. President, the
11 honorary chairmanship of the Irish party that
12 begins on the fourth floor next Monday, to which
13 all are invited.
14 And so really, it's a spirit.
15 It's a spirit which we all can relax, enjoy and
16 say isn't it great to be alive? Isn't it great
17 to have companionship? Isn't the human spirit
18 lifted by the fact that it can enjoy a cele
19 bration of life, glory in life, glory in living,
20 knowing that we can share that, we can share
21 that with each other, as I said, regardless of
22 our race, our religion, our color, whatever.
23 And so, truly, St. Patrick's day
1182
1 has evolved, Mr. President, and now it's
2 something I would hope that everyone can enjoy,
3 regardless of where their parents came from or
4 when they got here, but truly we can all enjoy
5 because we can enjoy each other and we can spend
6 a day enjoying each other and having fun, so to
7 speak, and I do believe, Mr. President, that
8 this one day which we enjoy with each other
9 means much more because truly it does -- it does
10 create a feeling of brotherhood, a feeling of
11 love for each other.
12 And so we ask you all to join us
13 next Monday -- of course, today is St. Patrick's
14 but next Monday is the day we will celebrate
15 here in Albany -- we ask you all to enjoy, to
16 join us so that we can enjoy you, you can enjoy
17 us, and we can all enjoy life and, as the Irish
18 say, God bless.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
20 Mendez, do you wish to speak to this resolution?
21 SENATOR MENDEZ: Mr. President, I
22 support wholeheartedly this resolution. I think
23 my colleague, John Daly, definitely defines the
1183
1 spirit of the parade in terms of sheer enjoyment
2 and sharing of culture and everybody is invited.
3 But, Mr. President, you mentioned
4 the Ohrensteins; Senator Daly, you mentioned the
5 Galibers. You mention everybody and you didn't
6 mention the Mendezes.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
8 Daly, I know why you rise.
9 SENATOR MENDEZ: Mr. President, I
10 just want to say in the spirit of the festivity
11 of St. Patrick's -- St. Patrick, I just want to
12 say, Erin go Bragh!
13 SENATOR DALY: I can't add to
14 that.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Thank
16 you, Senator O'Mendez.
17 All in favor of the resolution,
18 say aye loudly.
19 (Response of "Aye.")
20 The resolution is unanimously
21 adopted.
22 Senator Holland.
23 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr. President,
1184
1 I'd like to offer up the following privileged
2 resolution, ask that the title be read and that
3 it be adopted.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY:
5 Secretary will read the title.
6 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
7 Resolution, by Senator Holland and others,
8 urging President William Jefferson Clinton to
9 implement the five recommendations on Irish
10 issues which would set in motion a constructive
11 United States policy in regard to the north of
12 Ireland.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: All in
14 favor of the resolution, say aye.
15 (Response of "Aye.")
16 Those opposed, nay.
17 (There was no response. )
18 The resolution is adopted.
19 Do we have any other resolutions
20 on the floor? We have some motions. Senator?
21 SENATOR SEWARD: Yes, Mr.
22 President, on behalf of Senator Volker, on page
23 7, I offer the following amendments to Calendar
1185
1 55, Senate Print Number 1141, and ask that the
2 bill retain its place on the Third Reading
3 Calendar.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Without
5 objection.
6 SENATOR SEWARD: On behalf of
7 Senator Saland, on page 8, I offer the following
8 amendments to Calendar Number 138, Senate Print
9 Number 2363, and ask that the said bill retain
10 its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Without
12 objection.
13 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you.
14 SENATOR MEGA: Mr. President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
16 Mega.
17 SENATOR MEGA: On page 12, on my
18 bill, I offer the following amendments to
19 Calendar Number 208, Print Number 2784, and ask
20 that said bill retain its place on Third Reading
21 Calendar.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Without
23 objection, the amendments are received.
1186
1 SENATOR MEGA: Mr. President, I
2 now move to discharge the Committee on Finance
3 from Assembly Print Number 5959-A and substitute
4 it for the identical bill.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY:
6 Substitution is ordered.
7 Senator Kuhl.
8 SENATOR KUHL: Yes, Mr.
9 President. On behalf of Senator Levy, could you
10 place a sponsor's star on Calendar Number 186,
11 Senate Print Number 2,000.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 186 is
13 starred at the request of the sponsor.
14 SENATOR KUHL: Thank you.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
16 Present.
17 SENATOR PRESENT: Could we go to
18 the non-controversial calendar.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: We have
20 a couple substitutions. Could we do those
21 first?
22 SENATOR PRESENT: Yes, and then
23 non-controversial.
1187
1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY:
2 Secretary will read the substitutions.
3 THE SECRETARY: On page 12 of
4 today's calendar, Senator Padavan moves to
5 discharge the Committee on Transportation from
6 Assembly Bill Number 3836 and substitute it for
7 the identical Third Reading 191.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY:
9 Substitution is ordered.
10 THE SECRETARY: Also on page 12,
11 Senator Present moves to discharge the Committee
12 on Education from Assembly Bill Number 2868 and
13 substitute it for the identical Third Reading
14 194.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY:
16 Substitution is ordered.
17 Secretary will do
18 non-controversial.
19 THE SECRETARY: On page 11,
20 Calendar Number 183, by Senator Marino, Senate
21 Bill Number 1776, authorize the city of Glen
22 Cove to sell and convey certain parcels of real
23 property.
1188
1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
2 Galiber.
3 SENATOR GALIBER: One day on
4 that, please?
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: I
6 didn't hear.
7 SENATOR GALIBER: Lay it aside.
8 SENATOR PRESENT: For the day.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 185, by Senator Bruno, Senate Bill Number 2186,
11 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in
12 relation to residential improvement exemption in
13 certain cities.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll. )
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The
23 bill is passed.
1189
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 188, by Senator Johnson, Senate Bill Number
3 1284, an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic
4 Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read
6 the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll. )
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The
14 bill is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 189, by Senator Lack.
17 SENATOR PRESENT: Lay it aside
18 for the day.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Laid
20 aside for the day.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 190, by Senator Marchi, Senate Bill Number 2531,
23 an act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in
1190
1 relation to permitting certain vehicles of the
2 United States armed forces.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read
4 the last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call
8 the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll. )
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55, nays
11 one, Senator Leichter recorded in the negative.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: That
13 bill is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 191, substituted earlier today, by member of the
16 Assembly Silver, Assembly Bill Number 3836, an
17 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
18 relation to additional penalties for parking
19 violations.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read
21 the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
1191
1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll. )
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 54, nays
5 two, Senators Galiber and Waldon recorded in the
6 negative.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 193, by Senator Farley, Senate Bill Number 716,
11 authorize payment of transportation aid to the
12 Schalmont Central School District.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Is
14 there a local fiscal impact note? There is a
15 local fiscal impact note here at the desk. You
16 can read the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll. )
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The
1192
1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 194, substituted earlier today, by member of the
4 Assembly McGee, Assembly Bill Number 2868,
5 authorize the change of name of the Randolph
6 Children's Home Union Free School District.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll. )
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The
16 bill is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 208, substituted earlier today, by member of the
19 Assembly Koppell, Assembly Bill Number 5959-A,
20 an act to amend Chapter 502 of the Laws of 1992,
21 relating to certain non-judicial officers and
22 employees.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
1193
1 Present.
2 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President,
3 is there a message of necessity at the desk?
4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: There
5 is a message, Senator.
6 SENATOR PRESENT: I move we
7 accept the message.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: All in
9 favor of accepting the message, say aye.
10 (Response of "Aye.")
11 Those opposed nay.
12 (There was no response.)
13 The message is accepted.
14 You can read the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call
18 the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll. )
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: That
22 bill is passed.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY:
1194
1 Calendar Number 210, the bill is high. We'll
2 lay it aside.
3 Does that conclude it? Nothing
4 left over, Senator Present.
5 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President,
6 in behalf of Senator Levy, I'd like to announce
7 an immediate meeting of the Majority in Room
8 332.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: There
10 will be an immediate conference of the Majority
11 in Room 332.
12 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President,
13 there being no further business, I move that we
14 adjourn until Monday, March 22nd at 2:30 p.m.,
15 intervening days to be legislative days.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The
17 Senate will stand adjourned until Monday,
18 regular hour.
19 (Whereupon, at 4:31 p.m., the
20 Senate adjourned.)
21
22
23