Judith S. Kaye

Judith Ann Kaye ( Smith; August 4, 1938 – January 7, 2016) was an American lawyer, jurist and the longtime Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, serving in that position from March 23, 1993, until December 31, 2008. She was the first woman to serve as chief judge, the highest judicial office in New York State, and the longest-serving chief judge in New York history. Early life and education Kaye was born as Judith Ann Smith in Monticello, New York on August 4, 1938. Her parents, Benjamin and Lena (née Cohen) Smith, were Jewish immigrants from Poland who lived on a farm in Sullivan County, New York, and operated a women's apparel store. She skipped two grades, graduating from Monticello High School (New York) aged fifteen. She then graduated from Barnard College in 1958 with B.A. in Latin American civilization. She became a reporter for the Union City, New Jersey Hudson Dispatch, where she was a society news reporter, but left to become a lawyer.