In March, “my judge,” Rolando T. Acosta, retired from his role as presiding justice of the Appellate Division, First Department. Acosta’s retirement marked the end of a distinguished 25-year judicial career. I refer to Acosta as “my” judge because, for almost six years before I was appointed to the bench, I was his law clerk.
Law clerks often refer to the judges for whom they work in this proprietary way. Judges (hopefully) serve as mentors and role models to the law clerks they employ, and their clerks, in turn, come to see themselves as guardians of their judges’ reputations and legacies. We feel compelled to sing our judges’ praises whenever it’s appropriate, and to rush to their defense when we feel they are the subject of unfair criticism.
