Eulogy for Matthew J. Jasen.

• Author: Kaye, Judith S.
• Position: New York Court of Appeals judge - Testimonial

[This eulogy was delivered at the funeral services for Judge Jasen on February 11, 2006, at Christ the King Chapel on the campus of Canisius College, the Judge's beloved alma mater, in Buffalo, N.Y., the Judge's beloved birthplace.]

Three times I have traveled to Buffalo to pay special tribute to my former colleague and forever friend Matthew J. Jasen.

The first time was in December 1985, days after his seventieth birthday, when he was required by law to step down from the Court of Appeals bench. He had served the Court brilliantly for eighteen years, having decided thousands of cases and written hundreds of opinions articulating the law of the State of New York. I well remember the accolades Judge Jasen received in Buffalo from friends and colleagues, who welcomed him back home with open arms. He was rightly revered. As the Buffalo News wrote: "He leaves behind a rich legacy of more than 800 appellate opinions notable for their unfailing clarity, common sense and independent thinking, including some memorable dissents."

For Judge Jasen himself, clearly this was a time of mixed emotion. On the plus side, he enjoyed the accolades and the return to family, friends, and the practice of law. And I know he particularly enjoyed the fact that there would be no more rushing out of the courthouse to catch that Albany-to-Buffalo flight on Friday afternoons. But it was definitely not his choice to leave the Court and a life he loved. Indeed, on the day he left the Court, he spoke of a feeling of regret that time would not stand still so that he could continue for just a while longer.

It was for him the capstone of an extraordinary life as a lawyer and as a judge, both here and in post-war Europe, where he confronted the spectacle of human evil and perversion of justice by Nazi Germany, acquiesced in by the judiciary. Judge Jasen talked often about that indelible experience. He said that he resolved, right then and there, to do his part to insure that our judiciary remained strong, and dedicated to government in accordance with the rule of law, and not the rule of man. And surely he was faithful to that pledge.

For me, however, Matt Jasen's mandatory retirement from the Court of Appeals was decidedly not a time of mixed emotion. I had only shortly before joined the Court and was devastated to lose the company of my beloved colleague; the consummate gentleman from whom I learned so much; a true friend and partner in the incomparable, cherished life we...