Now and always our chief: the honorable Judith S. Kaye.

• Author: Oullette, Alicia R.
• Position: New York Court of Appeals chief judge - Testimonial

Upon hearing the news that Governor Eliot Spitzer had decided to reappoint Judge Judith S. Kaye for a second term as Chief Judge of the State of New York, all the practicing attorneys, law professors, and judges with whom I spoke gave the same response: "Of course," they said. "A no-brainer."

More forcefully than a loud celebration, the muted response and the unquestioned assumption that Judge Kaye should continue as our Chief Judge spoke to Judge Kaye's overwhelming success as a jurist and leader of the courts. The announcement was expected because Judge Kaye's status as the best person for the job could not be questioned. Judge Kaye was, well, Judge Kaye--a legal giant, a visionary leader of the courts, an unmatched intellect, a champion for justice, and a consummate professional. Her achievements are well documented. Of course she should have been reappointed.

But it's not only her achievements that make Judge Kaye great. A less tangible trait--power touched with grace--infuses Judge Kaye's every move and inspires, empowers, and motivates the people around her. I've been lucky enough to work with Judge Kaye several times: as the Editor-in-Chief of the Albany Law Review during a year in which we published three of her pieces, (1) as a law clerk to her close associate Judge Howard Levine, as an advocate before the Court of Appeals, as an attorney assigned to handle an appeal in the Court of Appeals in which she and the other judges of the Court of Appeals were parties, (2) and as the creator and editor of a journal that was among her pet projects. (3) Each time we've met, I've been overwhelmed by the ways in which Judge Kaye's graciousness, generosity, and fierce determination bring out the best in the people around her. In making this tribute, I want to write about those intangibles, for it is their confluence that cement for me Judge Kaye's irrefutable place as our Chief.

Judge Kaye's graciousness gives her a certain regal quality that is most evident when she makes a public appearance in a speech or in court. At the podium or on the bench, Judge Kaye communicates with unparalleled grace and skill. Her demeanor is the same off the public stage. Our busy Chief Judge is notorious for remembering and recognizing small details about the lives of the people around her that she could easily overlook. She learned, for example, during the time I was a student editor of the law review, that I had two children. From that time forward, without...