Hon. David B. Saxe Authors Article on What Makes an Effective Appellate Judge in New York Law Journal

Partner Hon. David B. Saxe (Ret.) recently published an article in New York Law Journal entitled “What Makes an Effective Appellate Judge?” in which he offered his professional insight into the qualities looked for in an appellate judge. Judge Saxe, a member of the Governor’s Judicial Screening Committee for the Appellate Division, First Department, highlighted and discussed five traits in particular:

The Ability to Write Clearly and Communicate

“Writing skills are vital; effective appellate judges must be more than mediocre scriveners.”

Collegiality

“The need to be able to work with your colleagues on an appellate bench is uniquely critical to the proper functioning of an appellate court.”

Compassion

“In an appellate environment, the parties and their conflicts are removed from real time judicial viewing but the emotion and pathos of the circumstances are buried nevertheless in the cold written pages of the Record. They often need to be exhumed through a compassionate analysis.”

Principled Decision Making

“The requirement of principled decision-making, is, beyond doubt another worthwhile aspiration and is essential to the credibility and success of appellate judicial functioning.”

A Fair and Balanced Temperament

“A good appellate judge gives counsel a reasonable opportunity to explain her positions and doesn’t permit bullying of a lawyer to take place during a panel sitting.”

New York Law Journal subscribers, read the full article here.