Coffin Lecture Tonight: Judge Judith Kaye, Chief Judge, State of New York

The Honorable Judith Kaye, Chief Judge of the State of New York, will present this year’s Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Law and Public Service.

Judge Kaye serves as the 16th annual Coffin Lecturer. She will deliver her lecture this evening Thursday, November 6, 2008, at 7:00 pm, at the Abromson Community Education Center, located at 88 Bedford Street in Portland, Maine.

The Honorable Judith Kaye was appointed New York State’s Chief Judge in 1993 by Governor Mario M. Cuomo and has served in that position for over 15 years. She was the first woman to serve on the New York Court of Appeals, which she joined as Associate Judge in 1983, and the first woman to occupy the State Judiciary's highest office as Chief Judge. She chairs the Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children and co-chaired the ABA Commission on The American Jury. Judge Kaye served as President of the Conference of Chief Justices and Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts. She is the author of numerous publications dealing with legal process, state constitutional law, women in law, professional ethics and problem-solving courts. A graduate of Barnard College and New York University School of Law, Judge Kaye has received many awards and several honorary degrees.

Established in 1992, the Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Law and Public Service honors a distinguished member of the United States judiciary and a long-time friend of the University of Maine School of Law. Judge Coffin was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, served as Chief Judge from 1972 to 1983, and assumed Senior status in 1989. A graduate of Bates College and Harvard Law School, Judge Coffin’s commitment to public service spans a wide-ranging career, including roles as a member of Congress, Deputy Administrator of the Agency for International Development, and Chair of the Committee on the U.S. Judicial Branch for the Judicial Conference. Judge Coffin is an active member of the University of Maine School of Law Board of Visitors.

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