Mod. Cts.-2

1999

Annual

Report

The Fund for

Modern Courts

Dedicated to improving the administration of justice in New York State

The 1999 Samuel J. Duboff Memorial Award was presented to the volunteers of

My Sisters’ Place, a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to victims of domes-

tic violence. Based in Westchester County, New York, My Sisters’ Place has long served

the Hudson Valley by helping victims to navigate the family and criminal courts, while

offering them food and shelter, short-term counseling,

welfare advocacy, referrals to other groups, and resi-

dential and non-residential support services.

The 1999 Duboff Award was presented by Hon.

Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of the State of New

York, and was accepted by Shari Zarkin on behalf of

the volunteers. The presentation was held in conjunc-

tion with a luncheon forum held at the White Plains

Public Library. The event

included a keynote address

by the Attorney General,

and was followed by a

panel discussion on ways

the courts can aid victims

with “unseen injuries”—

e.g., economic, psychologi-

cal, and other harms that

may result from domestic violence, but that, unlike

physical injuries, may not be visible. Panelists includ-

ed Hon. Joan O. Cooney, Supervising Judge of the

Westchester County Family Court; Gretchen Mullins

Kim, Legal Director of My Sisters’ Place; Lisi Lord,

Assistant Executive Director of My Sisters’ Place; and

“Jayne,” a survivor of domestic violence who now vol-

unteers with My Sisters’ Place. The luncheon forum

was made possible through the generosity of ITT

Industries, which provided funding for the event.

Each year, the Duboff Award recognizes non-lawyers who make outstanding con-

tributions to improving the quality of justice in New York. The award, first presented in

1986, is named for the late Samuel J. Duboff, who served as the Chair of Modern Courts’

Executive Committee for 19 years. A partner in the account-

ing firm of Ernst & Whinney, Mr. Duboff was a respected

leader of many civic, social service, and arts organizations,

and was well-known for encouraging others to volun-

teer their time to community service. The

Duboff family continues to maintain sig-

nificant ties to the Hudson Valley, the

region served by My Sisters’ Place.

Mr. Duboff’s son, David B.

Duboff, is a valued mem-

ber of Modern Courts’

Board of Directors.

Panelists, from left: “Jayne”;

Lisi Lord; Gretchen Mullins

Kim; and Hon. Joan O.

Cooney.

Left: Executive Director

Steven M. Zeidman

welcomes guests and

introduces participants;

right, Attorney General

Eliot Spitzer presents

the award to Shari

Zarkin, who accepts

it on behalf of the

volunteers of My

Sisters’ Place.

The Samuel J. Duboff

Memorial Award

Past winners of the Samuel J. Duboff

Memorial Award include:

1998 The volunteers of the Children’s

Centers of the courts of New York

State

1997 Supervised Visitation Programs

of New York State

1996 Dolores DelBello, former

member of the Commission on

Judicial Conduct

1995 The City-Wide Task Force on

Housing Court

1994 Rochester Church Women

United’s Task Force on Courts

1993 Pauline Feingold, court reform

activist

1992 John P. MacKenzie and Leonard W.

Halpert, editorial writers who have

supported court reform

1990 Court Appointed Special

Advocates (CASA) Association

1989 League of Women Voters and

its judicial directors

1988 Community Dispute Resolution

Centers Program

1987 Lillemor T. Robb, former chair

of the Commission on Judicial

Conduct

1986 Dutchess and Westchester

County Court Monitors

The Fund for Modern Courts is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, statewide court

reform organization dedicated to improving the quality and administration of jus-

tice in New York. Efforts to enhance the quality, diversity, and independence of the

judiciary are at the core of our mission.

Citizen Court Monitoring

In 1975, Modern Courts created the nation's first citizen court monitoring

program. Currently active in 16 counties across the state, our volunteer monitors

evaluate New York's courts from the perspective of the ordinary citizen. They

observe their local courts and make recommendations for improvement, and thus

provide an “outsider’s” perspective on the efficiency and effectiveness of the courts

and the judiciary. In 1999, monitors assessed Family Courts in New York City and

the Capital District, the Criminal Courts of the City of New York, and the County and

District Courts of Long Island. They also released reports on the Bronx County

Housing Court and the Rockland County Family Court. Modern Courts also partici-

pated in the first national conference on citizen court monitoring, held in Santa Fe,

New Mexico.

Judicial Selection and Judicial Campaign Finance Reform

For the last 45 years, the cornerstone of Modern Courts’ mission has been

the effort to improve New York’s method of selecting judges. From the day of our

founding, we have fought to remove the influence of money and politics from the

selection process by working to institute a merit selection system, in which judges

are appointed via a non-partisan procedure on the basis of their qualifications.

While we continue to fight for merit selection, our Task Force on Judicial

Campaign Finance Reform has begun work on a second front, by tackling the role

and effects of money and politics in our existing elective system.

The Task Force has attacked New York’s system of fiduciary appointments,

via which lawyers make financial contributions to the election campaigns of public

officials, including judges, in exchange for lucrative retainers or fee-paying

appointments, such as guardianships and receiverships. Modern Courts has long

been a harsh critic of this practice, known as “pay-to-play,” and continues to press

for reform in the wake of a scandal involving judicial appointments in Brooklyn. In

1999, Modern Courts’ staff has engaged in a variety of activities designed to raise

public awareness of the need for judicial campaign finance reform, including a

public forum in the Capital District and service on a national task force.

Strengthening Public Confidence

Modern Courts also worked to fulfill the second prong of its mission by par-

ticipating in educational and outreach programs designed to strengthen public

confidence in the courts. We sponsored one forum on navigating the New York City

Housing Court, and another in the Capital District on the need to restructure New

York’s courts; we participated in the National Conference on Public Trust and

Test type

Report

To Our

Constituents

Confidence in the Justice System, held in May in Washington, D.C.; and we contin-

ued distribution of our newest and most popular guide to the courts: Taking

Action Against Abuse: A Guide to the Courts for Victims of Domestic Violence

in New York State.

In addition, our legislative affiliate, the Committee for Modern Courts, boldly

called for legislative action on those issues that continue to be of the greatest

importance to citizens who must use New York’s courts: court restructuring, merit

selection of judges, reform of the judiciary’s system of fiduciary appointments,

judicial independence, increased funding for civil legal services, increased com-

pensation for appointed counsel, the return of cameras to the courts, and the need

for greater resources for courts around the state.

1999 also marked the beginning of new leadership at Modern Courts:

Michael A. Cardozo was elected as Chair of the Board of Directors, Peter A. Cross

was elected as Chair of the Executive Committee, and Steven M. Zeidman was

appointed as Executive Director.*

With your support, Modern Courts will maintain its leading role in helping to

make the court system more accessible, efficient, and user-friendly. We look for-

ward to continued success in 2000, and we thank the many public-spirited corpo-

rations, foundations, law firms, and individuals (listed later in this report) who

have contributed so generously to our efforts to improve the quality of justice in

New York.

Report

To Our

Constituents

* Mr. Zeidman joined Modern Courts on August 1, 1999.

From January to August, Barbara Reed served as Acting Executive Director.

Michael A. Cardozo, Chair

Peter A. Cross, Chair

Steven M. Zeidman

Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Executive Director

Taking Action Against Abuse:

A Guide to the Courts

for Victims of Domestic Violence

in New York State

The Fund for Modern Courts, Inc.

“Thank you for your letter of September 2, 1999

regarding the Schenectady City Court….Once

again I personally thank you for your continued

efforts to benefit the court system.”

Hon. Jan H. Plumadore

Administrative Judge

Fourth Judicial District

State of New York

“On behalf of the Mayor, I would like

to thank you and the Bronx Citizens’

Court Monitoring Project for the

detailed research and careful analysis

of the report. Please be assured that

the report’s recommendations will be

given due consideration when future

policy alternatives are evaluated.

The Fund for Modern Courts makes a

valuable contributution. Once again,

thank you for your input and findings.”

Steven M. Fishner

Criminal Justice Coordinator

Office of the Mayor

City of New York

In 1975, the Fund for Modern Courts pioneered an initiative designed to give

New York citizens a powerful voice in how their courts are run. This groundbreaking

program, known as citizen court monitoring, is straightforward: From around the

state, groups of non-lawyer volunteers observe court proceedings on a regular basis.

The monitors evaluate the courts from the point of view of those outside the system,

and recommend improvements to make the courts more efficient and user-friendly for

the average person. The monitors’ findings and recommendations are then published

by Modern Courts and released to court administrators, judges, court personnel, law-

makers, bar associations, civic groups, and the media.

For 24 years, citizen court monitoring has been the centerpiece

of Modern Courts’ efforts to involve the public in improving the

administration of justice. Our award-winning program has been cited

by the American Bar Association as one the country’s most effective

projects “in bringing problems to light and proposing changes to cor-

rect shortcomings.” The National Center for State Courts has applaud-

ed it as one of the “most well-run court monitoring programs in the

nation.” The American Judicature Society, in presenting Modern

Courts with its 1984 Justice Award, described it as “the catalyst for

virtually every worthwhile judicial improvement in New York State,”

and “the model for jurisdictions elsewhere striving to make the jus-

tice system more responsive to citizen needs.” Today, our volunteer

court monitors number more than 600 and work in 16 counties

across New York. Their dedication has helped to educate both the

judiciary and the public, has made the courts more accountable to

the communities they serve, and has produced tangible reforms that

benefit all New Yorkers.

Local Efforts

In 1999, monitors continued to concentrate on those courts in

which the average citizen is most likely to come into contact with the

justice system. They issued reports on the Bronx County Housing

Court and the Rockland County Family Court. Monitors evaluated the

Family Courts in all five boroughs of New York City, and the District

Courts of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. In Westchester County, moni-

tors finished their assessment of the County Court and the Criminal

Branch of Supreme Court, and began evaluating all three locations of the Westchester

County Family Court. Upstate, the Capital District Court Monitors completed two pro-

jects: the first in the Schenectady County Family Court, and the second in the

Schenectady City Court. Publication of all final reports is slated for 2000.

Tangible Results

In 1999, Modern Courts was asked to assist in the effort to obtain new court

facilities in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Monitors’ findings provided the basis for Modern

Courts’ testimony in support of the new courthouses.

In Brooklyn, the Family Court and the Criminal Branch of Supreme Court are

Report On

Citizen Court

Monitoring

“Thank you for sending me an

advance copy of the Nassau

County Court Monitors’ Report

on the Family Court. The court

monitors have taken their

work seriously and produced a

report that reflects considerable

satisfaction with the overall

operation of the Court while

addressing many of the concerns

that can impede the Courts’

operation…. As usual, I

appreciate the fine efforts of

the court monitors and am

grateful for the recommendations

made by the Fund toward

increasing the efficiency of the

courts and their responsiveness

to the public.”

Hon. Jonathan Lippman

Chief Administrative Judge

State of New York

Report On

Citizen Court

Monitoring

currently housed in separate buildings. During

the summer, land use review proceedings com-

menced on a proposal for a new combined

facility. In hearings before Community Board

2, the Office of the Borough President, the

City Planning Commission, and the City

Council, monitors’ findings provided a

graphic picture of the urgent need for new

facilities: They described the Family Court

as “dark,” “dismal,” and “depressing,”

subject to “severe overcrowding,” and

lacking any client conferencing space or

child care facilities. In their 1996

report, monitors had made it abun-

dantly clear that “most of the problems

are caused by space shortages that can

only be solved by moving to a larger

building.” In a 1997 report, monitors

had also cited many of the same defi-

ciencies in the Supreme Court,

Criminal Branch. Additionally, they

highlighted security and other

problems created by the need to

transport handcuffed prisoners in

public areas of the courthouse.

In the Bronx, the proposed

facility would house the Criminal Branch

of the Supreme Court and the Bronx County Branch of the Criminal Court

of the City of New York. Again, Modern Courts turned to its monitors’ findings to make

the case for the new courthouse. As long ago as 1992 and 1995, monitors had

described the existing facilities as “dark,” “dismal,” and “depressing”; “crowded,”

“poorly lit,” and “filthy”; and “beyond description,” “shabby,” “dirty,” and “disgust-

ing.” They found the Criminal Court to be utterly inaccessible for people with physical

disabilities, and criticized the absence of conferencing space and child care facilities.

Thanks in part to the monitors’ findings and the efforts of Modern Courts’

staff, both projects were approved in late 1999, and groundbreaking is expected

during the coming year.

National Influence

Citizen court monitoring is gaining attention across the nation. As the pioneer

in this effort, Modern Courts remains the standard-bearer, providing information and

assistance to groups in other states that seek to evaluate and improve their courts.

In late October, Modern Courts participated in the first-ever national confer-

ence on court monitoring, co-sponsored by WATCH of Minneapolis and the Santa Fe

Court Monitors, and held in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Associate

Executive Director Barbara E. Reed represented Modern Courts at

this landmark event, and she delivered presentations on three topics:

the philosophy and purpose of citizen court monitoring; training of

volunteers; and public and media outreach. Since the conference,

Modern Courts continues to share information with other groups and

to provide guidance to those seeking to launch new programs.

Agenda for a New Millennium

The year 2000 will mark the silver anniversary of Modern

Courts’ citizen court monitoring program. To celebrate 25 years of

citizen involvement in improving the administration of justice,

Modern Courts is planning a follow-up event to the 1999 conference.

In addition, Modern Courts looks forward to the inauguration in

2000 of an exciting new partnership with the New York State Office

of Court Administration and the City University of New York’s John Jay

College of Criminal Justice. In an initiative organized by Executive

Director Steven Zeidman, students in two separate courses at John

Jay College will participate in Modern Courts’ monitoring program as

a condition of enrollment; 38 students are scheduled to take part.

Under the auspices of the Office of Court Administration, members of

the judiciary will meet with students in the classroom setting to share

information and obtain feedback on the students’ findings. Mr.

Zeidman is currently negotiating to expand the partnership, which will greatly

increase the diversity of Modern Courts’ pool of monitors, and will enable the moni-

toring program to expand its efforts to meet the twin goals of public education and

court reform. Finally, reports slated for release in 2000 will continue to address

problems in local courts around the state, and Modern Courts’ newly-enhanced pool

of monitors will continue their dedicated efforts to improve the administration of jus-

tice for all New Yorkers.

Report On

Citizen Court

Monitoring

“On behalf of all of the judicial and

non-judicial personnel at Kings

County Supreme Court, I thank

you once again for your ongoing

support of this endeavor. In

response to our many requests,

you have given freely of your

time and expertise as an advocate

for court improvement. Your

testimony unquestionably helped

us achieve this great success,

and we could not have done it

without you. I am personally

grateful for your friendship and

assistance.”

Hon. Michael L. Pesce

Administrative Judge

Second Judicial District

Supreme Court of the State of New York

“I would like to express my thanks for your statement of support

for the Bronx Criminal Court Complex at the public hearing held by

the Bronx Borough President’s Office on August 10, 1999…. I know

that supporting a project such as this can present challenging

issues to those who work daily in the courts and the community

in which those courts are located. Your decision to outline the

need for this new facility from your unique perspective is much

appreciated and provided the background to the City’s decision

to propose the project.”

Steven M. Fishner

Criminal Justice Coordinator

Office of the Mayor

City of New York

One group, the Fund for Modern

Courts, said that last year it formed

a task force to look into the role that

receiverships play in the larger issue

of judicial campaign financing. The

group expects to release a report on

its findings in the coming months,

said its associate director, Barbara

Reed.

“It’s all fine and good to say that

judicial elections are democratic,

but in terms of their practical effect

they’re not democratic,” Ms. Reed

said, “People aren’t getting the

whole picture. In effect, they are

voting for who the party says are the

nominees.”

Community

Outreach

and

Education

Below: Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye

delivers the keynote address

at Modern Courts’ Strategic

Conference on Court Restructuring.

Left: Conference panelists, from

left, Melinda Aikins Bass; Jeanne

B. Mullgrav; Jay G. Safer; Evelyn M.

Stock; Hon. Franz S. Leichter.

Each year, outreach events on court-related topics serve as an important part of

Modern Courts’ effort to educate the public about the courts and to build a constituen-

cy for court reform.

Court Restructuring

In 1999, Modern Courts sponsored two public events to emphasize the urgent

need to restructure New York’s antiquated court system. The purpose of each event

was to develop methods for achieving meaningful reform, as participants analyzed

goals and strategies for revitalizing Chief Judge Kaye’s proposal for streamlining the

state’s labyrinth of courts.

In January, more than 200 people attended a “Strategic Conference on Court

Restructuring,” organized by our lobbying and advocacy organization, the Committee

for Modern Courts, and held at Fordham University School of Law. New York State Chief

Judge Judith S. Kaye delivered the keynote address, reminding attendees of the desper-

ate need for reform and rallying them to a renewed sense of urgency, enthusiasm, and

commitment. Her call to action was echoed first by Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan

Lippman, and then by the members of a panel on goals and strategies for achieving

reform. Serving as panelists were Melinda Aikins Bass, President of the Women’s Bar

Association of the State of New York; Hon. Franz S. Leichter, former member of the New

York State Senate; Jeanne B. Mullgrav, Director of Court Programs, Victim Services; Jay

G. Safer, Chair, Task Force on Court Restructuring, Association of the Bar of the City of

New York; and Evelyn Stock, President, League of Women Voters of New York State. The

event was moderated by Fern Schair, a former Chair of Modern Courts’ Executive

Committee.*

The excitement generated by the rally was highlighted in Chief Judge Kaye’s State

of the Judiciary Address in February, as she described her own reactions:

I wish you could have seen the enthusiasm, felt the energy of the hundreds of representa-

tives of community groups, bar groups, civic groups that attended. They know, as we

know, that court restructuring will make the courts easier to understand, easier to navi-

gate, easier to manage…. Court restructuring is a mighty idea, a powerful idea, an ox of

an idea, an idea that can move mountains. I feel certain that if we all pulled together, we

could get that ox out of the ditch and put it to work building a court system for the 21st

century.

In June, Modern Courts also sponsored a Capital District forum entitled

Streamlining Justice: Why New York Needs Court Restructuring Now. Helga A.

Schroeter, Modern Courts’ Capital District Coordinator, organized the event, which was

moderated by Hon. John R. Dunne, a member of Modern Courts’ Board of Directors.

Community

Outreach

and

Education

Serving as panelists were Hon. G. Douglas Griset, Supervising Judge, Schenectady

County Family Court; David L. Gruenberg, Esq., Counsel, New York State Senate

Judiciary Committee; Evelyn M. Stock, President, League of Women Voters of New York

State; and Hon. Joseph J. Traficanti, Jr., Deputy Chief Administrative Judge of the State

of New York.*

Navigating the New York City Housing Court

In April, Modern Courts organized a forum entitled Navigating the New York

City Housing Court: Tips for Tenants and Landlords. The program, designed for

non-lawyers, featured experienced panelists who discussed how to avoid a trip to

Housing Court; once there, how to navigate the system; options that can make the

process easier for both tenants and landlords; and ways to improve the process.

Serving as panelists were Angelita M. Anderson, Esq., of the City-Wide Task Force on

Housing Court; Vince Castellano, owner representative to the New York City Rent

Guidelines Board; I Scott Edelstein, Esq., of Novick, Edelstein, Lubell, Reisman,

Wasserman & Leventhal, P.C.; Robert D. Goldstein, Esq., of Borah Goldstein Altschuler

& Schwartz, PC; and Kenneth Rosenfeld, Esq., of Northern Manhattan Improvement

Corporation.* The forum was moderated by Modern Courts director Alfreida B. Kenny,

Esq., and was held at Fordham University School of Law.

Improving Public Trust

In 1998, the American Bar Association, the Conference of Chief Justices, the

Conference of State Court Administrators, and the League of Women Voters launched a

Panelists, from left,

Hon. Joseph J. Traficanti, Jr.;

David Gruenberg;

Evelyn M. Stock;

Hon. G. Douglas Griset.

Hon. John R. Dunne moderates

the forum.

national initiative to improve the public’s confidence in the American justice system.

The chief justices of all fifty states participated in this effort by creating state-specific

initiatives in their own jurisdictions that were designed to improve relations between

the justice system and the public it serves. In New York, Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye

founded a “Committee to Promote Public Trust and Confidence in the Legal System,”

comprising leaders of the bench, bar, legislative and executive branches of govern-

ment, and organizations dedicated to the public interest. In March, at the committee’s

invitation, Modern Courts provided testimony on methods to encourage public confi-

dence in New York’s justice system, emphasizing the critical need to restructure the

state’s inefficient and outdated court system.

In May, the state delegations convened again in Washington, D.C., for the first

National Conference on Public Trust and Confidence in the Justice System. At the invita-

tion of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), Modern Courts attended the confer-

ence as NCSC’s guest, and joined some 500 other leaders of the legal and public-interest

communities in sharing information and resources, and in seeking new and effective

methods of improving public education while simultaneously enhancing public trust.

National Jury Summit 2001

In the fall, Executive Director Steven Zeidman was invited to join the planning

committee for the National Jury Summit 2001, an event slated for January, 2001, and

organized by the New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA) and the National

Center for State Courts (NCSC). The summit will bring together representatives from all

fifty states and from other select groups to discuss the need and to describe the impe-

tus for jury reform, to showcase changes in jury systems across the nation and their

methods of implementation, and to develop a national focus on jury system innova-

tions. Mr. Zeidman subsequently agreed to become a member of the Summit Advisory

Committee, and will play an active role in this national effort.

Community

Outreach

and

Education

Several delegates from

New York to the National

Conference on Public Trust

and Confidence in the

Justice System. Bottom,

from left: Former Governor

Mario Cuomo; Chief Judge

Judith S.Kaye. Top, from

left: Hon. Evelyn Frazee;

Sharon S. Gerstman;

Paticia K . Bucklin; Hon.

William C. Thompson;

Hon. Jonathan Lippman;

Evelyn M. Stock; Beverly

McQueary Smith; Barbara

E. Reed; James C. Moore;

Thomas O. Rice.

Community

Outreach

and

Education

Judicial Campaign Finance Reform

Modern Courts’ Task Force on Judicial Campaign Finance Reform continues its

efforts to eliminate the role of money and politics in judicial selection. Calling publicly

for reform, directors and staff sought to educate the public through several venues,

including letters, articles, and interviews with reporters for such publications as The

New York Times, the New York Law Journal, the Daily News, Newsday, and

Metropolitan Corporate Counsel. Associate Executive Director Barbara E. Reed rep-

resented Modern Courts on the national Task Force on Selecting State Court Judges, a

project of Citizens for Independent Courts, and she served as co-reporter for the Task

Force’s final report, Choosing Justice: Reforming the Selection of State Judges. She

also served as a guest lecturer in a course taught by Hon. David Saxe, Judicial Process

Seminar, at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she discussed issues relat-

ed to judicial selection.

Modern Courts closed the year on an active note, hosting a December

forum in the Capital District, entitled Defending Judicial Independence:

Campaign Finance Reform and Judicial Elections. The event was moderat-

ed by Dean Thomas H. Sponsler of Albany Law School,

who is also a Vice Chair of the Committee for Modern

Courts. Serving as panelists were Barbara Bartoletti,

Legislative Action Director of the League of Women Voters

of New York State; Hon. W. Dennis Duggan, Albany County

Family Court Judge; Erik Joerss, Director of Lobbying and

Grass Roots, Common Cause/NY; and Barbara E. Reed,

Associate Executive Director of Modern Courts. In addi-

tion, Modern Courts was an outspoken leader in criticiz-

ing an end-of-year patronage scandal that erupted in

Brooklyn, involving allegations that judges granted lucra-

tive fiduciary appointments to lawyers who contributed to

the judges’ campaigns or who maintained other partisan

political connections. Finally, Modern Courts continued to

expand its outreach, meeting with a delegation of

Japanese judges to discuss judicial selection, indepen-

dence, and discipline in New York.

Dean Thomas H. Sponsler

moderates the discussion

on judicial campaign

finance reform. Panelists

from left to right: Erik

Joerss; Barbara Bartoletti;

Barbara E. Reed; Hon. W.

Dennis Duggan.

Modern Courts in the Media

Modern Courts continued hosting its own monthly Court Radio program on

WVOX-AM in Westchester County. Guests included Leo Glickman, Esq., Chief of

Candidate Services of the New York City Campaign Finance Board; Steven Jon Levine,

Esq., of Levine & Zelman, and Maria Bryson Whealan, Esq., of the Women’s Justice

Center of Westchester; Hon. William M. Erlbaum, Acting Justice, Supreme Court of

the State of New York; Hon. Joan O. Cooney, Supervising Judge, Westchester County

Family Court, and Barbara D. Finkelstein, Esq., Executive Director of Westchester-

Putnam Legal Services; and Dr. Burton Leiser of Pace University School of Law.*

Representatives of Modern Courts also have been quoted in or have written for

such diverse publications as The New York Times, the New York Law Journal,

Newsday, The New York Post, The Daily News, The New York Observer, Albany’s

Times-Union, The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, the Troy Record, The Journal

News, Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, and The Tampa (Florida) Tribune. For the

year 2000, Modern Courts will continue its role as one of the nation’s leading

resources for improving the administration of justice.

Community

Outreach

and

Education

* Titles and affiliations reflect those of

the participants at the time of each event in 1999.

Dean, Fordham University School of Law; Chairman, Board of Directors, American

Arbitration Association; past President, Association of the Bar of the City of New York; for-

mer Chairman, New York State Commission on Government Integrity; President, Board of

Directors, Citizens Union Foundation.

Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP; United States Chairman of the Board of the Pirelli Group; past

President, American Judicature Society; past President, Association of the Bar of the City of

New York; member, judicial selection committee of Senator Daniel P. Moynihan; former

legislative assistant to Senator Jacob K. Javits.

Senior Counsel, Sullivan & Cromwell; past President, American Bar Foundation; past

President, American Bar Association; past President, American Judicature Society; past

President, New York State Bar Association and the New York Bar Foundation; former

Counsel to Governor Nelson Rockefeller.

Retired Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; former United States Secretary of State; past

President, Association of the Bar of the City of New York; former Chairman, Federal

Reserve Bank of New York.

Principal, Wittenberg, Shaw & Ross; Adjunct Professor, NYU School of Law; former

Director, Institute of Judicial Administration; Member, Board of Directors, National

Institute for Dispute Resolution; Co-Chair, New York State Court ADR Project.

Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP; past President, Association of the Bar of the City of New York;

former Chair, New York State Joint Committee on Judicial Administration; former Chair,

New York State Appellate Division Task Force; Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers.

Attorney and civic activist; Trustee, Brooklyn Law School; past President (now Vice

President), Edith C. Blum Foundation, Inc.; member, Rockefeller University Council and

the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center Advisory Board.

Professor (Emerita), Director of Archives, former Department Chair and Chief Librarian,

New York City Technical College; past President, American Printing History Association;

Secretary/Treasurer, The Typophiles, Inc.; former Chair, Historical Records and Archives

Advisory Council; author and editor of works on printing history.

Senior Managing Director, The Blackstone Group; Fellow, American College of Bankruptcy;

member, Board of Directors, Toys “R” Us, Inc. and Lone Star Industries, Inc.

Chair:

John D. Feerick

Chair Emeritus:

Robert M. Kaufman

Chair Emeritus:

Robert MacCrate

Chair Emeritus:

Cyrus R. Vance

Vice Chair and/Executive

Committee Chair:

Margaret L. Shaw

Vice Chair:

Michael A. Cardozo

Vice Chair:

Frances M. Friedman

Secretary:

Catherine T. Brody

Treasurer:

Arthur B. Newman

Officers

January 1, 1999–May 31, 1999

Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP; past President, Association of the Bar of the City of New York;

former Chair, New York State Joint Committee on Judicial Administration; former Chair,

New York State Appellate Division Task Force; immediate past Vice Chair and former

Executive Committee Chair, the Fund for Modern Courts.

Dean, Fordham University School of Law; Chairman, Board of Directors, American

Arbitration Association; past President, Association of the Bar of the City of New York; for-

mer Chairman, New York State Commission on Government Integrity; President, Board of

Directors, Citizens Union Foundation

Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP; United States Chairman of the Board of the Pirelli Group; past

President, American Judicature Society; past President, Association of the Bar of the City of

New York; member, judicial selection committee of Senator Daniel P. Moynihan; former

legislative assistant to Senator Jacob K. Javits.

Senior Counsel, Sullivan & Cromwell; past President, American Bar Foundation; past

President, American Bar Association; past President, American Judicature Society; past

President, New York State Bar Association and the New York Bar Foundation; former

Counsel to Governor Nelson Rockefeller.

Retired Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; former United States Secretary of State; past

President, Association of the Bar of the City of New York; former Chairman, Federal

Reserve Bank of New York.

Managing Partner, Jacob, Medinger & Finnegan, LLP; former Executive Committee member

and Finance Committee Co-Chair, the Fund for Modern Courts.

Engaged in private practice, specializing in real estate transactions and litigation, trusts and

estates, and general commercial litigation; instructor for topics in the fields of real estate,

trusts and estates, and Surrogate’s Court practice; Outreach Committee Chair, the Fund for

Modern Courts.