The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York
2010 David A. Garfinkel Essay Prize
" THE EVOLUTION OF JUSTICE ALONG THE ERIE CANAL"
The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York is pleased to
announce the
2010 David A. Garfinkel Essay Prize. This year, New York marks the 185th anniversary
of the
opening of the Erie Canal. Construction of the canal began in 1817, and it was
the engineering
marvel of the early United States. The canal crossed rivers and valleys, cut
through deep rock,
and passed through marshes and forests. With the exception of a few places where
black powder
was used to blast through rock formations, all 363 miles were built by the muscle
power of men
and horses.
The Erie Canal proved to be the key that unlocked an enormous series of social
and
economic changes in the young nation. The Canal spurred the first great westward
movement of
American settlers, gave access to the rich land and resources west of the Appalachians,
and made
New York the preeminent commercial city in the United States.
More information about the legal developments that resulted from the Erie Canal
can be found in Leah Green's article, The
Erie Canal and The American Imagination: The Erie Canal's Effects On American
Legal
Development, 1817-1869. Before you read Leah Green's article, we suggest that
you look at An
Outline of the Legal Terms used in the Case Law of the Erie Canal--it will explain
the legal
terms and concepts that you will encounter in Leah's article. These, and other
recommended
resources can be found here.
Essay Competition Instructions:
Listed below are five questions about the legal developments that occurred as
a result of
the construction of the Erie Canal. Pick any three of these as the focus of
your essay. In your
concluding paragraph, answer the question: Are the legal doctrines that enabled
the Erie Canal to
flourish in the nineteenth century evident in the law of twenty-first century
New York?
1. The New Jersey Nets will get a new stadium in Brooklyn if
the Atlantic Yards
redevelopment takes place. Similarly, travel between New York and Canada will
involve
a lot less tedium and delay if the Peace Bridge in Buffalo (on the international
border) is
expanded. Both projects highlight a problem common to major civic redevelopments
--
the land needed for the undertaking is owned by a large number of individual
homeowners and businesses. In the nineteenth century, New York courts focused
on the
public benefit derived from economic development rather than on the rights of
individual
property owners to make the construction of the Erie Canal legally possible.
In Leah
Green's article, you will find an outline of the important Erie Canal eminent
domain
cases.
Referring to Erie Canal eminent domain cases, explain how the common law evolved
to remove
legal obstacles to the construction of the Erie Canal. Next, examine the Atlantic
Yards briefs
submitted to the Court of Appeals and discuss the present-day eminent domain
arguments you
find there.
(If the Court of Appeals briefs are not posted on the essay competition website
by the time you
write your essay, use the Appellate Division briefs that are posted there now.)
2. Today, the Internet is described as the "Information
Super Highway." It has brought
tremendous benefits to our lives but has also enabled people to harm others
through cyber
torts. The Erie Canal, described as "America's First Super Highway,"
was the
technological marvel of its time. It brought huge commercial benefits to those
living and
working in its vicinity, but also increased the possibility that people or their
property
would be injured. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the New York courts
developed a common law of tort based on negligence that benefitted the canal
authorities
but also left some who had been harmed by the canal without legal remedy. In
Leah
Green's article, you will find an outline of important Erie Canal tort cases.
Referring to these Erie Canal tort cases, explain how the New York courts changed
the way that
people were compensated for injuries by requiring negligence on the part of
the wrongdoer.
Next, examine the issues raised in the article on Civil Liability on the Internet
and discuss how
the courts are handling the emergence of cyber torts, making reference to New
York cyber tort
case law.
3. Today, commercial transaction are governed by the Uniform
Commercial Code which all
states in the United States have enacted. In 1993, recognizing that commercial
litigation
is highly sophisticated and complex, the Unified Court System created the New
York
Commercial Division --a specialized court devoted to commercial litigation.
In the
nineteenth century, the Erie Canal opened up markets to the West and greatly
expanded
opportunities for interstate and international commerce. In Leah Green's article,
you will
find a description of the developments in contract and commercial law that resulted
from
the early years of the operation of the Erie Canal.
Referring to Erie Canal contract and commercial law cases, explain how the New
York courts in
the nineteenth century encouraged the development of business law that led to
New York City's
commercial preeminence. Next, look at the website of the New York Commercial
Division,
examine the benefits that resulted from the creation of this court, and discuss
some of the
important cases decided by it.
4. Today, the media labels the opinions of judges as examples
of "judicial activism" or
"judicial restraint." In the early years of the State's existence,
judges simply applied fixed
common law doctrines to resolve disputes between litigants. Changes in the law
were
achieved through legislation. As the nineteenth century dawned, judges became
increasingly aware that the decisions they made had public policy implications
and, as
legal historian Morton Horowitz stated, the courts "came to play a central
role in
directing the course of social change." In Leah Green's article you will
find specific
examples of judicial activism.
Referring to these Erie Canal cases, show how the judges in nineteenth century
New York used
the common law to create a legal environment that was favorable to the construction
of the Erie
Canal and encouraged commercial growth. Discuss the impact this activism had
on the lives of
the people who lived and worked on the Erie Canal. Next, examine the themes
in Marcia Coyle's
article Is Sotomayor a Judicial Activist? New Studies May Shed Some Light, and
discuss whether
courts today play the same role in initiating social change through case law.
5. Under the common law doctrine of sovereign immunity a government
cannot be sued in
its own courts without its consent. Today, New York State waives immunity and
permits
civil litigation seeking damages against the State of New York to be brought
in the New
York Court of Claims. In the 1823 appeal in Jerome v Ross, Chancellor Kent stated:
If
there was ever a case [canal construction] in the ordinary pacific operations
of
government, in which all petty private interests should be made subservient
to the interest
of an entire people, this is the one. Kent held that the canal authorities had
an absolute
right to enter on land and take stone needed for the construction of the canal,
but he also
found that the State had waived sovereign immunity under the Canal Acts, and
that Ross
could seek damages for the stone taken from his land. This was the final case
decided by
Chancellor Kent in the course of his illustrious career.
Referring to the holding in Jerome v Ross, discuss how Chancellor Kent extended
the State's very
limited waiver of sovereign immunity under the Canal Acts and strove to balance
the interests of
the State and the individual citizen. Next, look at the website of the New York
Court of Claims,
examine its jurisdiction and discuss some important cases decided by it.
Winners
The winners will:
< Receive a prize of $1,500 (First Prize) or $1,000 (Second Prize).
< Be honored at the Law Day ceremony at Court of Appeals Hall—an event
at which the
Chief Judge of the State of New York presides and the Governor, the Attorney
General,
and the Bench and Bar of New York attend.
< Be a guest at the New York Court of Appeals luncheon honoring Law Day award
recipients.
< Be eligible to have the essay published in Judicial Notice: A Periodical
of New York
Court History on the website of The Historical Society of the Courts of the
State of New
York.
The Community College
The President(s) and the students’ mentoring professor(s) at the college(s)
attended by the
David A. Garfinkel essay prize winners will be invited to attend the Law Day
program and the
Court of Appeals luncheon.
Requirements
< The writer must be a student registered at a Community College within the
SUNY or
CUNY systems.
< The essay must be an original work of scholarship.
< The essay must be at least 1,500 words in length, in English, double spaced,
and
formatted for 8-1/2" by 11" paper.
< The essay must be sent by e-mail attachment (PDF, Word or WordPerfect)
to:
The_Historical_Society@courts.state.ny.us and the body of the e-mail must contain
(1)
your name, (2) home address, (3) the name of the college you attend and (4)
the name of
your professor.
< All entries must be submitted to The Historical Society of the Courts of
the State of New
York by April 2, 2010. The winners will be announced at the New York Court of
Appeals
2010 Law Day ceremony.
Judging
A panel of members of the New York Bench and Bar will select the winning essays.
Essays will
be judged on:
< Understanding of the subject
< Original thinking relating to the subject
< Effectiveness in presenting a point of view
< Good literary style and technique
The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York is an education
corporation
chartered by the Board of Regents of The University of the State of New York.