Courthouse Art: Requiring Worship or Inspiring Liberty?

A portion of a sculpture by Kaare Nygaard outside the City Court and Department of Public Safety Building in White Plains, N.Y. Photo credit: L. Tripoli

The unrest in Ferguson, Mo. makes me think about how the law is represented generally. Should a police presence be intimidating our reassuring? Should a hall of justice incite fear or inspire belief in fairness? Should government buildings foster a sense of equality or one of clubiness?

I choose equality, reassurance, fairness.

Consider courthouses, justice departments, police stations, law firm entrances in your own area. Do they convey power inappropriately taken? What feelings do you have when you see art that adorns outside or interior spaces? Are these the ones you want to have?

—Lori Tripoli

Sculpture outside the White Plains, N.Y. City Court. Photo credit: L. Tripoli

Humanity on the Bench

Before working in a courthouse, I tended to be in awe of the judiciary. Maybe that judicial wear—robes—intimidated me, conveying a clergy-like and unapproachable presence. Judges just seemed to float a bit above and beyond. Working (for a legal newspaper) in close proximity to judges, though, and learning where they purchased that judicial gear, made me appreciate both their humor and their humanity. They’re just like the rest of us, but they get to make big decisions. Some of those decisions are carefully weighed and clearly articulated; others, not so much.

Federal judges discuss some of their high-visibility decisions in Blindfolds Off by litigator Joel Cohen, of counsel at New York City’s Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. In my personal quest to understand how judges get where they do, I’ve put this book on my to-read list. Two points to Stroock for loading an excerpt onto its website—great way to drive traffic.  

—Lori Tripoli

Must a Lawyer Admitted in New York Have an Office in New York?

Ah, the joy of not having a national bar but admitting lawyers on a state-by-state basis. How much energy is expended every year bickering over where lawyers admitted to the bar, or to multiple bars, can actually practice? What, if any, sort of virtual office is acceptable, and where must it be? Can a lawyer admitted in New Jersey and New York and living in New Jersey still appear before New York courts?

So much may depend on what the meaning of office is. Does it require a physical space of some sort? Does it just mean a service-of-process designee? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has certified a question to the New York Court of Appeals seeking the following guidance: “Under New York Judiciary Law § 470, which mandates that a nonresident attorney maintain an ‘office for the transaction of law business’ within the state of New York, what are the minimum requirements necessary to satisfy that mandate?” Schoenefeld v. New York, No. 11-4283-cv, slip op. at 12 (2d Cir. Apr. 8, 2014).

In 2011, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York found New York Judiciary Law § 470 to violate the Privileges and Immunities Clause, U.S. Const. Art. IV, § 2, which, as a reminder, provides that citizens of each State “shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.” Schoenefeld v. New York, 907 F. Supp. 2d 252 (N.D.N.Y. 2011).

On appeal, the Second Circuit observed that “whether Section 470 survives constitutional scrutiny depends on the construction of the in-state office requirement imposed on nonresident attorneys” before certifying the question to the New York Court of Appeals about minimum requirements of an office. Schoenefeld v. New York, slip op. at 12.

—Lori Tripoli