Funeral Arrangements for Retired Court of Appeals Judge George Bundy Smith

Thanks to MBBA for sharing this information.

Funeral Arrangements for Retired Court of Appeals Judge George Bundy Smith are as follows:

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 12, 2017, at Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Dr, and 120th Street, Entrances at 490 Riverside Drive & Claremont Avenue, NYC

The viewing is from 9AM to 10AM and services will begin immediately thereafter at 10AM.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Justice Bundy Smith’s honor to:

Phillips Academy
ATTN: Kathleen O’Sullivan
180 Main Street
Andover, MA 01810


Donations to the MBBA’s Honorable George Bundy Smith Scholarship fund:

Friends of the MBBA, Inc.
275 Madison Avenue, 14th Floor
New York, NY 10016


Links:

George Bundy Smith Bio on New York Historical Society of the New York Courts

Retired NY appeals court judge George Bundy Smith dies at 80


MBBA Members and Supporters:

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of the Honorable George Bundy Smith who was an excellent jurist and giant in our profession.  He will be profoundly missed by his MBBA family, and the legal profession generally. 

The Honorable George Bundy Smith, served on the MBBA Board and founded its original scholarship fund. Appointed by Governor Mario Cuomo, Judge Smith served on the New York State Court of Appeals from 1992 to 2006. He also served as a judge on the Civil Court of New York City from 1975-1986 and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New York from 1987-1992. A former law professor at Fordham Law School, Judge Smith was also a former Freedom Rider and a graduate of Yale University (B.A. 1959), where he was just one of three African Americans in his class, and Yale Law School (LL.B 1962). He also received a Ph.D from New York University and an LL.M from University of Virginia School of Law.

In 2014, The Metropolitan Black Bar Association established The Honorable George Bundy Smith Scholarship Fund to offer three scholarships to students who demonstrate qualities of leadership, a passion for the arts and sciences, or a commitment to diversity and academic excellence. The fund is in honor of Judge Smith, who for many years provided board leadership and guidance to the Metropolitan Black Bar Association, including starting the organization’s first scholarship fund. Above all, Judge Smith valued education and consistently leveraged his successes to the benefit of the African-American community.

Statement from Chief Judge Janet DiFiore on behalf of the New York Court of Appeals: The Court of Appeals is saddened by the death of George Bundy Smith, who served with great distinction as an Associate Judge of the Court from 1992 to 2006. A freedom rider during the civil rights struggle of the 1960s, Judge Smith remained soft-spoken, self-effacing, and completely dedicated to fairness and justice for all people throughout his career. As then-Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye said of him in 2005, “George is a man of few words, but they are absolutely the right words.” He leaves our nation a better place than he found it. We will miss him deeply.

We will provide you with information about services and memorials as we receive them.

In Service,

President Paula T. Edgar and the Board and Officers of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association

A Statement from Chief Judge Janet DiFiore on Behalf of the New York Court of Appeals (August 5, 2017)

The Court of Appeals is saddened by the death of George Bundy Smith, who served with great distinction as an Associate Judge of the Court from 1992 to 2006. A freedom rider during the civil rights struggle of the 1960s, Judge Smith remained soft-spoken, self-effacing, and completely dedicated to fairness and justice for all people throughout his career. As then-Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye said of him in 2005, “George is a man of few words, but they are absolutely the right words.” He leaves our nation a better place than he found it. We will miss him deeply.

AABANY joins the entire legal community in mourning Hon. George Bundy Smith, a trailblazing attorney and jurist, for his contributions to making positive change in the legal profession and society as a whole.

Please consider supporting the Metropolitan Black Bar Association (MBBA) Hon. George Bundy Smith Scholarship Fund. More from MBBA:

The Honorable George Bundy Smith, served on the MBBA Board and founded its original scholarship fund. Appointed by Governor Mario Cuomo, Judge Smith served on the New York State Court of Appeals from 1992 to 2006. He also served as a judge on the Civil Court of New York City from 1975-1986 and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New York from 1987-1992. A former law professor at Fordham Law School, Judge Smith was also a former Freedom Rider and a graduate of Yale University (B.A. 1959), where he was just one of three African Americans in his class, and Yale Law School (LL.B 1962). He also received a Ph.D from New York University and an LL.M from University of Virginia School of Law.

In 2014, The Metropolitan Black Bar Association established The Honorable George Bundy Smith Scholarship Fund to offer three scholarships to students who demonstrate qualities of leadership, a passion for the arts and sciences, or a commitment to diversity and academic excellence. The fund is in honor of Judge Smith, who for many years provided board leadership and guidance to the Metropolitan Black Bar Association, including starting the organization’s first scholarship fund. Above all, Judge Smith valued education and consistently leveraged his successes to the benefit of the African-American community.

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NYPD Policy Questionnaire from MBBA

The NYPD wants your input on an important NYPD policy before it is finalized: their body camera policy.

The NYPD will equip 1,000 officers in 20 precincts with body-worn cameras.  In partnership with the Policing Project at NYU School of Law, the Department is seeking input into the policy that will govern the use of the cameras from the people who live, work or go to school in New York City through an online questionnaire.

The questionnaire may be completed in minutes and is mobile-friendly. The questionnaire may be found at  www.nypdbodycameras.org. There you will also find the Department’s proposed policy in full and in summary form. The questionnaire is designed to get feedback on the core policy issues the Department must address and it also provides an opportunity for the participant to provide narrative comments.

The site will remain open until July 31, 2016.  NYU will collect the responses and comments and provide a report to the NYPD for the Department’s consideration in drafting the final policy.

Please give your input, and please share this blog post with other members of your organization or community. 

Thanks to MBBA for sharing this important questionnaire with us.

Metropolitan Black Bar Association and National Pan-Hellenic Council of Greater New York (NPHC-NYC) “No Doubt” March for Justice

From MBBA:

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

March Begins at 5:00pm

Foley Square to Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn

On Wednesday, July 20, 2016, the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Greater New York (NPHC-NYC) and Metropolitan Black Bar Association (MBBA) will host a peaceful march from lower Manhattan to downtown Brooklyn seeking justice against police brutality against Black people.  The “No Doubt” March for Justice will begin at 5:00 pm in Foley Square and end at 9:00 pm at Cadman Plaza East in Brooklyn.  (We are asking participants to arrive as early as 4:00 pm.  In the event of any change, we will be sure to disseminate that change as soon as possible.)

The “NO DOUBT March for Justice” is coined as such primarily because our Black men, women and children do not receive the benefit of the DOUBT in police encounters as other people do. The phrase is also apropos in letting our communities, and the larger community, know not to DOUBT us – we are resilient, intelligent and powerful as well and have the ability to use our individual and collective resources to achieve justice for our people.  

NPHC-NYC is the umbrella organization for the historic Black Greek Lettered Organizations in the NYC area and the MBBA is a citywide association of black lawyers. We collectively pray for the country and the world during these turbulent times. In the wake of the recent shootings of Alton Sterling and Philadro Castille, the members of MBBA and NPHC-NYC are galvanized into action. As a result, we call for the ongoing senseless killings of Black men, women and children to end.

We are excited to partner with NPHC-NYC for this march. We appreciate their support, and we all should use this time to collaborate with other local and national organizations to continue striving for justice.

Please direct all inquiries regarding the “NO DOUBT” March for Justice to Lucien Metellus at [email protected]. #BlackLivesMatter, #NoDoubtMarch, #NPHCNYCMarch.

For more information about the MBBA, please contact [email protected]

The People Vs. Moses – The Temple Emanu-El Skirball Center | New York City

The People Vs. Moses – The Temple Emanu-El Skirball Center | New York City