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Leslie E. Stein (born 1956) is a former judge on New York State's Court of Appeals. Stein was appointed to the court by
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
in late 2014, and was confirmed by the New York State Senate on February 9, 2015.


Early life

The daughter of two law school graduates, Stein grew up in the Capital District of New York.''Albany Law Magazine'', Summer 2015, p. 23. She graduated from
Macalester College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S te ...
, with
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
honors. She started law school at the Minnesota Law School, and after her first year, transferred to
Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at A ...
for her last two years, when she earned her
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
in 1981, and was ranked second in her class.


Legal career

Stein worked in a paid legal internship during her last year at Albany Law. After law school, Stein first worked as a law clerk at
Schenectady County Schenectady County () is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 158,061. The county seat is Schenectady, New York, Schenectady. The ...
Family Court. She was in private practice for almost 14 years, starting as an associate and later a partner, at the
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
law firm of McNamee, Lochner, Titus & Willams. She re-entered government service as an Albany City court judge in early 1997. Stein served on the Albany Law School board of trustees. In September 2019, Stein was nominated as Director of the
Government Law Center The Government Law Center at Albany Law School is a nonpartisan law and public policy center based in Albany, New York.  It produces independent legal research and analysis to help state and local governments better serve their communities. The ...
at
Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at A ...
and started the role full-time in January 2022.


State judicial service


New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division

She was elected to the State Supreme Court, Third Judicial District in 2001, and started her service on that trial bench on January 1, 2002. She was appointed, in February 2008, to fill a vacancy as an associate justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, Third Judicial Department. (
Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008. Spitzer was b ...
was the Governor at the time, a month before he resigned.)


New York Court of Appeals

Governor Cuomo nominated Stein to the
New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...
in late 2014. Judge
Victoria A. Graffeo Victoria A. Graffeo (born 1952) is a former judge of the New York State's Court of Appeals. Judge Graffeo was appointed to the court by Republican Governor George Pataki in 2000 for a 14-year term. Governor Andrew Cuomo declined to appoint her t ...
applied to the New York State Commission on Judicial Nominations to be considered for appointment to a second term. The Commission included Graffeo on its list of seven candidates for the position, but Governor Andrew Cuomo declined to reappoint Graffeo and instead selected Justice Stein for the position. Stein's nomination was confirmed by the
New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...
on February 9, 2015. In November 2020, Stein announced her plans to retire effective June 4, 2021.


See also

*
List of Jewish American jurists This is a list of notable Jewish American jurists. For other famous Jewish Americans, see Lists of American Jews. Supreme Court of the United States Federal judges Appellate judges * Robert E. Bacharach, Judge of the United States Court of ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stein, Leslie E. 1956 births Living people 21st-century American judges Albany Law School alumni American jurists Judges of the New York Court of Appeals Lawyers from Albany, New York Macalester College alumni New York (state) lawyers Politicians from Albany, New York University of Minnesota Law School alumni 21st-century American women judges New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department justices