Editor’s Note: Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo, who will begin a third term next month as New York City’s chief legal adviser on Friday received the Cyrus R. Vance Tribute from the Fund for Modern Courts. Following are excerpts from his remarks.
I want to begin with a bit of history. In 1974, then Governor-elect Hugh Carey appointed what he called a Task Force on Court Reform and appointed Cyrus Vance as its chair. Cy in turn appointed me as counsel to the task force and thereby started me on my journey into public service and court reform. That task force was asked to recommend solutions to the difficult challenges faced by the New York judicial system at the time. The task force ultimately recommended, and the Legislature and then the people subsequently adopted, three constitutional amendments creating a merit appointment system for the Court of Appeals, a Commission on Judicial Conduct, and a centralized administrative system for the courts.
