Editor’s Note: This essay is adapted from former Justice Rolando Acosta’s remarks upon receiving the Cyrus R. Vance Tribute from the Fund for Modern Courts on May 11, 2023.

I am grateful that the Fund for Modern Courts and other organizations have continued to stand up for the judiciary through their support of judicial independence, court simplification, and the constitutional requisite of merit selection for judges on New York’s highest court. Many of the Fund’s members spoke out during the previous Chief Judge nomination process of Hon. Hector D. LaSalle—Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department—when the judiciary’s reputation and independence, and the rule of law, were at stake. Not everyone voiced their concerns about the larger issues at play, involving the role of judges in a democracy and what it would mean to have the first Latino Chief Judge of the state. But you did, so I thank you.