The Court of Appeals is New York's highest appellate court, created in 1847. It consists of seven judges—one chief judge and six associate judges—who are now appointed by the governor to 14-year terms, having formerly been elected.
In New York, unlike most other states of the U.S., the court designated as the "Supreme Court" is the trial court rather than the highest court of the state; this nomenclature sometimes leads to confusion.
Another quirk that leads to confusion is in the titles of the jurists who sit on the court. In most states and the federal court system, members of the highest court are titled "Justices". In New York, the members of the Court of Appeals are titled "Judges".
The Court's most famous judge is Benjamin Cardozo, who decided many landmark cases during his tenure, including Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co.
During the late 20th century, the most famous judge on the Court of Appeals was Chief Judge Sol Wachtler, who was elected to the court in 1972 and appointed Chief Judge in 1985. He was renowned for the fine quality of his legal opinions. Wachtler's career ended disastrously in November 1992 when the FBI arrested him for stalking a wealthy woman he had been having an affair with.
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