Bonventre, Vincent Martin

Religious Liberty: Fundamental Right or Nuisance

Is free exercise of religion a fundamental right or simply a nuisance? The fact of the matter is that it is both. Indeed, all of the fundamental rights, including the freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of the press, right to counsel,…

Introduction to the Ninth Annual Chief Judge Lawrence H. Cooke Symposium, High Courts, Center Seat: Chief Justices at Albany Law School; and "The Lippman Top Ten"

In his introductory statement before the Judges, Justices, and attendees of the 9th Annual Chief Judge Lawrence H. Cooke Symposium hosted at Albany Law School, Professor Vincent M. Bonventre introduces the years panel of judges: Chief Justice Thomas…

Stewart F. Hancock, Jr., 1923-2014; In This Issue: Truth v. Justice

Judge Hancock was characterized by his colleagues as “a perfect gentleman.” If there is an essence that can be distilled from his body of judicial work, it is that commitment to decency in the law, to promoting fundamental fairness. That doctrine,…

Toward the Lippman Court: Flux and Transition at New York’s Court of Appeals

At the time of this writing, barely a year had passed since Jonathan Lippman assumed the center seat at New York’s highest tribunal as the Chief Judge of the state. Still there was been no shortage of notable developments almost immediately for the…

Race: A Legal, Historical, Scientific, and Personal Issue

This is the Introduction to the Albany Law Review's 2009 symposium, "Defining Race." Professor Bonventre opens the symposium with a few remarks on the genesis and objectives of the day-long conference, and he shares some of his own perspectives on…

Appellate Division on Appeal: The Justices' Rates of Agreement, Rejection, and Vindication by the Court of Appeals

New York State’s intermediate appeals justices vary widely in their rates of success on review by the Court of Appeals. At one end, there are those justices whose votes and opinions, whether majority or dissent, are consistently ratified by the high…

Book Review reviewing Bernard S. Meyer, Burton C. Agata, and Seth H. Agata. The History of the New York Court of Appeals, 1932-2003

This tome is a must for Court of Appeals junkies. That being said, leafing through the pages quickly reveals that, notwithstanding the title, this is not a history. Rather, it is a survey of collected Court of Appeals decisions (from the 1932…

Changing Roles: The Supreme Court and the State High Courts in Safeguarding Rights

This article decries the changed role of the Supreme Court in American national governance over the past quarter century. The traditional, cherished, loftiest role of the Court has historically been accepted as being the ultimate guardian of…

The Fall of Free Exercise: From 'No Law' to Compelling Interests to Any Law Otherwise Valid

This article is based on remarks made by Prof. Vincent M. Bonventre at an Albany Law School symposium on the current state of religious freedom under Supreme Court jurisprudence. Bonventre surveys the evolution of free exercise protection under the…

Aristotle, Cicero and Cardozo: A Perspective on External Law

In this essay, based on opening remarks at a symposium on the use of foreign law in American court decisions, Professor Bonventre notes that the practice of considering extra-national law is as old as antiquity. He recalls, for example, that in…

Judicial Activism, Judges' Speech, and Merit Selection: Conventional Wisdom and Nonsense

This article introduces three topics which were the focus of an Albany Law Review symposium devoted to current issues facing the judiciary: judicial selection methods, the free speech rights of judges, and judicial activism. Professor Vincent M.…

Court of Appeals Update, 2000 & 2001: Conservative Voting, Narrow Rulings

Many scholars have recognized that divided decisions provide a window into a court’s inner sanctum. Divided decisions by a high tribunal reveal the dissenters’ and separate concurrers’ high principals and deeply held differences with the majority…

Richard C. Wesley: Voting and Opinion Patterns on the New York Court

Professor Vincent M. Bonventre analyzes the voting practice of New York Court of Appeals Judge Richard C. Wesley in both criminal and civil cases. A contradiction presents itself when this record is looked over: while Judge Wesley is stanchly…

Albany Law School on the High Court

Judge Victoria A Graffeo took her oath as a Judge of the New York Court of Appeals in 2000. As she took her place on the Court of Appeals, Judge Graffeo was also taking place among an elite line of Albany Law School alums who have served with…

Public Law at the New York Court of Appeals: An Update on Developments, 2000

Professor Vincent M. Bonventre analyzes the history of the New York Court of Appeals from the tenure of Chief Judge Benjamin Cardozo through to the modern day, noting it’s years of affinity for both the government and the individual, in turn. Next,…

The Diallo Case People v. Boss: Panel Discussion

The following is a transcript of the question-and-answer session that concluded the Albany Law School’s panel discussion of the Amadou Diallo verdict, held on March 7, 2000. Panel participants included Professor John Baker, Professor Vincent…

Tribute to Chief Judge Lawrence H. Cooke, 1914-2000

Chief Judge Lawrence H. Cooke was a giant in his profession, in his community, in his family, with his friends and colleagues, and for all who came to know him. His passing is a great loss, an occasion of great sadness for all those he helped,…

Court Bashing and Reality: A Comparative Examination of Criminal Dispositions at the New York Court of Appeals and Neighboring High Courts

In 1995 and 1996, the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, was subject to the sort of partisan and tabloid excoriation which the judges and the judiciary generally in America periodically endure. New York's governor, Republican…

Yes: Litigants Deserve a Justice with an Open Mind (A Right to Talk: Has Justice Antonin Scalia Compromised His Objectivity with a Public Remark?)

Late last year Scalia told an audience at Catholic University that it is “absolutely plain there is no constitutional right to die.” It’s not that judge should keep their opinions to themselves; they should keep their minds open. A judge should truly…

State Constitutional Jurisprudence: Decision Making at the New York Court of Appeals

This is a transcript of the presentation given by Professor Vincent M. Bonventre in 1996 at a conference discussing, among other things, State Constitutional Jurisprudence. Professor Bonventre and Professor Luke Bierman both presented on State…

New York and the Supremes: State Constitutional Law on the Rebound at the Court of Appeals

In this introductory essay, Professor Vincent M. Bonventre begins to explore the “reactive” era of the New York State Court of Appeals under Chief Judge Sol Wachtler. Professor Bonventre discusses the reliance of the Court on the state constitution…

Professional Responsibility: 1994-1995 Survey of New York Law

Professor Vincent M. Bonventre analyzes New York Court of Appeals and Supreme Court decisions from 1994-1995 as the pertain to professional responsibility. First are two conflicting decision by the Supreme Court cases regarding the level of…

Changing Course at the High Court

There has been a dramatic change in the make-up of the Court of Appeals in the last few years (authored in 1994). The seven-member Court of Appeals has a new chief judge, Judith Kaye, and three new associate judges, George Bundy Smith, Howard Levine…

Court of Appeals - State Constitutional Law Review, 1991

The inaugural State Constitutional Law Review triggered considerable reaction. Some in high places, including current and former members of the Court, were quite upset. They apparently took offense at the author’s observations that the Court under…

New York's Chief Judge Kaye: Her Separate Opinions Bode Well for Renewed State Constitutionalism at the New York Court of Appeals

When Judith Kaye was elevated by New York's then-Governor Mario Cuomo to the center seat of the state's highest court, she was already a national leader in promoting judicial federalism. In her judicial opinions as an Associate Judge of the Court of…

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