Five months have passed since former chief judge Judith S. Kaye took over the investigation into David Paterson's role in his aide's alleged assault against a former girlfriend. Today Kaye released her report [pdf], concluding that Paterson did not break any laws when he repeatedly contacted the woman, Sherr-una Booker, after his former top adviser, David Johnson, allegedly choked her, tore off her Halloween costume, and threw her against a mirrored dresser last October. There has been widespread speculation that Booker dropped her court case against Booker as a result of pressure from Paterson and the State Police. (She dropped the case the day after a phone call from Paterson.) more ›

Who is Judith Kaye? Yesterday allies of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, as well as independent observers, had many nice things to say about the 71-year-old retired judge, who was appointed to the bench by Governor Mario Cuomo but has no experience as a prosecutor. Yet that's just what makes her so perfect for the job of investigating Governor David Paterson; her respected career on the bench will boost the probe's credibility, or so they say. "Regardless of what decision she reaches, her decision will be respected because of who she is and what she brings to the table," Alan Vinegrad, a former US attorney in Brooklyn, tells the Times. more ›

Chief Justice Judith Kaye is stepping down from the NY State Court of Appeals on December 31 because the mandatory retirement age is 70, and colleges, experts and others describe her as an "outstanding" and "remarkable" judge to the NY Times. Kaye, who attended Barnard and NYU Law, was appointed to the court by Mario Cuomo in 1983 and then was made chief justice in 1993. She's not that happy the nominees for her job are all men or that she said to file a lawsuit to insist upon raises for jurists ("It takes a little bit of the joy out of everything"), but she helped overhaul the jury system and, though NY State didn't recognize gay marriage, her 2006 dissenting opinionhas been cited by California and Connecticut courts in their decisions to recognize gay marriage. She wrote, "It is uniquely the function of the Judicial Branch to safeguard individual liberties guaranteed by the New York State Constitution, and to order redress for their violation. The Court's duty to protect constitutional rights is an imperative of the separation of powers, not its enemy. I am confident that future generations will look back on today's decision as an unfortunate misstep." more ›

State judges want a raise in salaries after years of paycheck stagnation. They got close during last year's budget negotiations as the former Governor Spitzer lobbied on their behalf, but the proposal was dropped in closed-door negotiations. The primary stumbling block: state legislators are tying any raise in judges' salaries to a pay raise for themselves. more ›