The Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, or simply the First Department, is one of the four geographical components of the

New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division The Appellate Divisions of the Supreme Court of the State of New York are the intermediate appellate courts in New York State. There are four Appellate Divisions, one in each of the state's four Judicial Departments (e.g., the full title of the ...

, the

intermediate appellate court An intermediate appellate court is an appellate court that is not the court of last resort A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last ...

of the

State of New York New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...

. Its courthouse is located in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Jurisdiction

The First Department of the Appellate Division holds jurisdiction over the Counties of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. Appeals are taken to the Appellate Division, as a matter of right, in civil and criminal cases, from the Supreme Court, Surrogate's Court, Family Court, and Court of Claims. Along with the state's other three Appellate Departments, it shares responsibility for all admissions to the New York bar. Under the state's bar admission rules, all bar applicants must be interviewed in person by one of the Appellate Departments. The First Department admits only residents of Manhattan and the Bronx, with all other applicants being admitted by other Departments. However, once admitted by one department, a new attorney may practice in any New York state court.

Case load

Over 3,000 appeals, 6,000 motions, and 1,000 interim applications are determined each year.

Current justices

Former justices

* George C. Barrett (1896–1900) * Charles H. Van Brunt (1896–1905, P.J. 1896–1905) * William Rumsey (1896–1901) * Pardon C. Williams (1896–1898) * Morgan J. O’Brien (1896–1906, P.J. 1905–1906) * Edward Patterson (1896–1910, P.J. 1906–1910) * George L. Ingraham (1896–1915, P.J. 1910–1915) *

Alton B. Parker Alton Brooks Parker (May 14, 1852 – May 10, 1926) was an American judge, best known as the Democrat who lost the presidential election of 1904 to Theodore Roosevelt. A native of upstate New York, Parker practiced law in Kingston, New York, ...

(1897) *

Chester B. McLaughlin Chester Bentine McLaughlin (February 10, 1856 – May 12, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life He was born on February 10, 1856, in Moriah, Essex County, New York, the son of Lyman McLaughlin and Harriet C. McLaughlin. ...

(1898–1917) * Edward W. Hatch (1900–1905) * Frank C. Laughlin (1901–1922) * James W. Houghton (1905–1910) * John P. Clarke (1905–1926, P.J. 1916–1926) * John S. Lambert (1906–1908) * Francis M. Scott (1906–1918) *

Nathan L. Miller Nathan Lewis Miller (October 10, 1868 – June 26, 1953) was an American lawyer and politician who was Governor of New York from 1921 to 1922. Early life and education Nathan Miller was born on October 10, 1868, the son of Samuel Miller, a te ...

(1910–1913) * Victor J. Dowling (1911–1931, P.J. 1927–1931) * Henry D. Hotchkiss (1913–1915) * Walter L. Smith (1915–1924) * Alfred R. Page (1916–1923) * Vernon M. Davis (1916–1918) * Clarence J. Shearn (1916–1919) * Edgar S.K. Merrell (1918–1935) *

Eugene A. Philbin Eugene Ambrose Philbin (July 24, 1857 – March 14, 1920) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was New York County District Attorney from 1900 to 1901. Early life Eugene A. Philbin was born in New York City on July 24, 1857, t ...

(1920) * Samuel Greenbaum (1920–1922) *

Edward R. Finch Edward Ridley Finch (November 15, 1873 – September 16, 1965) was an American lawyer and politician. Early life His father was Edward Lucius and his mother was Anne Crane (née Ridley). He was a descendant of Abraham Finch, a native of England, ...

(1922–1935, P.J. 1931–1935) * John V. McAvoy (1923–1937) *

Francis W. Martin Francis W. Martin (October 3, 1878 – June 1, 1947) was the first ever district attorney in Bronx County, New York and a judge on the New York Supreme Court from 1921 until his death. Personal life and early career Martin was born on Octob ...

(1923–1947, P.J. 1935–1947) * William P. Burr (1924–1926) * Robert F. Wagner (1926) * James O'Malley (1927–1942) *

Joseph M. Proskauer Joseph Meyer Proskauer (6 August 1877 – 10 September 1971) was an American lawyer, judge, philanthropist, and political activist and is the name partner of Proskauer Rose. Biography Proskauer was born in Mobile, Alabama, to a Jewish family in 18 ...

(1927–1930) * Henry L. Sherman (1930–1933) * Alfred H. Townley (1931–1946) * Edward J. Glennon (1933–1954) * Irwin Untermyer (1933–1945) * Edward S. Dore (1936–1954) * Albert Cohn (1936–1955) * Joseph M. Callahan (1937–1955) * David W. Peck (1945–1957, P.J. 1947–1957) * Isidor Wasservogel (1945) *

John Van Voorhis John Van Voorhis (October 22, 1826October 20, 1905) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Early life Van Voorhis was born in 1826 in Decatur, New York. His family moved several times before settling in the town of Mendon. He ...

(1947–1953) * Bernard L. Shientag (1947–1952) * Francis D. McCurn (1951) * Christopher J. Heffernan (1951–1952) *

Charles D. Breitel Charles David Breitel (December 12, 1908, New York City – December 1, 1991, Manhattan, New York City) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1974 to 1978. Private life ...

(1952–1966) * Francis Bergan (1952–1963) * Sydney F. Foster (1952–1953) * Earle C. Bastow (1953–1970) *

Bernard Botein Bernard Botein (May 6, 1900 – February 3, 1974) was a prominent New York City lawyer and judge, a legal reformer, a presiding justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, and a president of the New York ...

(1953–1968, P.J. 1958–1968) * Benjamin J. Rabin (1955–1968) * Joseph A. Cox (1955–1956) * Martin M. Frank (1956–1960) * Francis L. Valente (1956–1966) * James B.M. McNally (1957–1972) * Harold A. Stevens (1958–1974, 1975–1977, P.J. 1969–1974, 1975–1977) * Robert E. Noonan (1960–1964) *

Samuel W. Eager Samuel Watkins Eager (April 8, 1789 – December 23, 1860) was a U.S. representative from New York. Born in Neelytown, New York, Eager attended Montgomery Academy in Montgomery, New York, and graduated from Princeton College in 1809. He studie ...

(1960–1972) * Aron Steuer (1961–1974) * G. Robert Witmer (1963–1971) * Ellis J. Staley, Jr. (1964–1968) * Louis J. Capozzoli (1966–1977) * George Tilzer (1967–1975) *

Owen McGivern Owen may refer to: Origin: The name Owen is of Irish and Welsh origin. Its meanings range from noble, youthful, and well-born. Gender: Owen is historically the masculine form of the name. Popular feminine variations include Eowyn and Owena. ...

(1967–1975, P.J. 1974–1975) * Daniel E. Macken (1968–1974) * Arthur Markewich (1969–1982) * Emilio Nunez (1969–1977) * Francis T. Murphy (1971–1997, P.J. 1977–1997) *

Theodore R. Kupferman Theodore Roosevelt Kupferman (May 12, 1920 – September 23, 2003) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York and a judge of the New York Supreme Court. Biography Kupferman was born in New York City. He ...

(1971–1996) * Myles J. Lane (1973–1979) * Vincent A. Lupiano (1974–1982) * J. Robert Lynch (1974–1987) * Paul J. Yesawich, Jr. (1974–1981) * Harold Birns (1975–1982) * Samuel J. Silverman (1975–1984) * Herbert B. Evans (1977–1979) * Arnold L. Fein (1977–1986) * Leonard H. Sandler (1977–1988) * Joseph P. Sullivan (1978–2007, P.J. 2000–2001) * Max Bloom (1979–1986) * David Ross (1979–1997) *

John Carro John Carro (born August 24, 1927) is an American judge. He served as a judge for 25 years and was involved in many high-profile cases. A New York Supreme Court Justice serving in the Appellate Division, where he served as an associate justice f ...

(1979–1994) * Sidney H. Asch (1982–1995) * E. Leo Milonas (1982–1993, 1996–1998) * Bentley Kassal (1982–1993) * Fritz W. Alexander II (1982–1985) * Ernst H. Rosenberger (1985–2003) * Betty Weinberg Ellerin (1985–2005, P.J. 1999) * Richard W. Wallach (1986–2003) *

George Bundy Smith George Bundy Smith (April 7, 1937 – August 5, 2017) was a lawyer and judge in New York State. While he was a law student at Yale University, he participated in the Freedom Ride from Atlanta, Georgia, to Montgomery, Alabama. Early life Smi ...

(1987–1992) * Israel Rubin (1989–2002) * Eugene L. Nardelli (1993–2010) * Milton L. Williams (1993–2008, P.J. 2002) * Peter Tom (1994-2019, Acting P.J. 2007, 2009, 2016–2017) * Richard Andrias (1996-2018) * Nicholas Colabella (1997–1998) * Alfred D. Lerner (1998–2004, P.J. 1998) * David B. Saxe (1998–2017) * John T. Buckley (1999–2010, P.J. 2003–2006) * George D. Marlow (2001–2008) * Luis A. Gonzalez (2002–2015, P.J. 2009–2015) * John Sweeny (2004-2019) *

James M. McGuire James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(2005–2011) * Bernard J. Malone, Jr. (2005–2008) * E. Michael Kavanagh (2006–2008) *

Jonathan Lippman Jonathan Lippman (born May 19, 1945) is an American jurist who served as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 2009 through 2015. He is currently Of Counsel in the Litigation & Trial Department of Latham & Watkins’ New York office ...

(2007–2009, P.J. 2007–2009) * James M. Catterson (2004–2012) * Karla Moskowitz (2008–2017) * Helen E. Freedman (2008–2014) * Leland G. DeGrasse (2008–2015) * Sheila Abdus-Salaam (2009–2013) * Nelson S. Román (2009–2013) *

Rosalyn Richter Rosalyn Richter is an American lawyer who served as an associate justice of the New York Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, First Judicial Department. Early life and education Richter is the daughter of Anita Richter and the late Nathani ...

(2009–2020) *

Darcel D. Clark Darcel Denise Clark (born April 2, 1962) is an American attorney and prosecutor serving as the Bronx County District Attorney, serving since 2016. Clark is the first woman to hold that office, and the first woman of color to serve as a district a ...

(2012–2015) * Paul G. Feinman (2012–2017) * Marcy L. Kahn (2016-2019)

Notable cases

*'' Pando v. Fernandez'' *''

People v. Jovanovic ''People v. Jovanovic'', 263 A.D.2d 182, 700 N.Y.S.2d 156 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep't 1999), was a highly publicized criminal case in New York. In 1996, Oliver Jovanovic (born 1966) was accused of sadomasochistic torture of a woman, later identified ...

'' *''

Stambovsky v. Ackley ''Stambovsky v. Ackley'', 169 A.D.2d 254 ( N.Y. App. Div. 1991), commonly known as the ''Ghostbusters'' ruling, is a case in the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, that held that a house, which the owner had previously advertised to the ...

External links