Inaugural Hon. Joseph W. Bellacosa Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence

Summary

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Since the early 1990s, the New York State court system has been turning the prism to find the most effective ways to deliver justice in this brave new world. Again and again judges asked themselves whether, while delivering justice, they could also save lives and improve public safety by enabling people to climb out of a downward spiral of criminal behavior, to reenter society from prison, to obtain treatment for mental illness, or to find a path away from a violent spouse or drug dependency. Clearly the challenge in these cases is not simply to resolve a particular legal question, but to find a way to make the court intervention a meaningful one. The development of problem-solving courts was a response to the fact that society was leaving these problems at the courthouse door, filling their dockets to overflowing, clearly signaling that new approaches were necessary if the courts were to provide effective justice and maintain the trust and confidence of the public.

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Extract

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Inaugural Hon. Joseph W. Bellacosa Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence

This lecture begins with a tribute to the students, faculty, and administration here at St. John's, who have given me a truly remarkable and memorable day, crammed from beginning to end with thoughtful, stimulating questions and conversations: about justice, about lawyers and courts, and, in particular, about the Court of Appeals.1 And I am of course most grateful to the catalyst for this special day, my beloved former Court of Appeals colleague and forever friend, Judge Joseph Bellacosa.

You have no more devoted alumnus. Indeed, in all his transmogrifications-lawyer, Clerk of the Court of Appeals, Chief Administrative Judge of the State of New York, Judge of the Court of Appeals, Dean of St. John's University School of Law, Professor, Commission Chair, Trustee, author, commentator, colleague, friend, and sports fan-Joseph W. Bellacosa is one of a kind. He is a scholar, profound thinker, prodigious researcher, a facile writer in any language, and downright fun. His wonderful traits are numerous: abundant talent, boundless energy, warmth and exuberance, devotion to family and friends, strong moral fiber, wisdom, diligence, an...

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