The National Center for State Courts has announced that its 2008 Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence goes to our very own Jonathon Lippman, Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department. 

One of the most prestigious judicial honors in the country, the Rehnquist Award is presented annually to a state court judge who exemplifies the highest level of judicial excellence, integrity, fairness, and professional ethics. Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts will present the award to Justice Lippman at a ceremony on the evening of November 20th at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

Aside from my own ignorance, since I’ve never heard of this award before, and I swear that I’d remember an award for judicial excellence that was named after William Rehnquist, who will always loom large in my mind for his flash of brilliance in his Geduldig v. Aiello opinion, holding that pregnancy discrimination is not sex discrimination because not all women want to get pregnant, my chest was filled with pride.  Of all the judges in all the courts in the whole country, they picked mine.

But why, I wondered?  I try to keep up on the happenings of my favorite appellate court, and Justice Lippman in particular, ever since he grabbed me by the throat with his opinion in People v. Packer, with its unforgettable language, “appreciable diminution of the coercive sequelae of prior illegality.”  I still get goose bumps whenever I read it.  Plus, he’s only been at the A.D. for about a year.  Not much time to make such a big splash.

The press release from the NCSC (you remember the place, the one that promotes cooperation between courts and law enforcement in being an active player in removing drunk drivers from the road) explains:

NCSC President Mary C. McQueen said Justice Lippman was selected for his “unparalleled ability to promote and achieve reform in the state courts. His leadership in the New York courts has contributed to numerous improvements in that state’s justice system and has served as an example for courts across the country.”

As Chief Administrative Judge, Justice Lippman was cited for effectively mobilizing judges and court staff to reopen 10 key court facilities and administrative offices in Manhattan following the 9-11 terrorist attacks; being instrumental in making New York one of the leaders in problem-solving justice; overseeing efforts to overhaul New York’s jury system; and expanding access to justice, among many other accomplishments.

Wait a minute.  Lippman won for being a bureaucrat?  He reopened the courts after 9/11?  That was in 2001, seven years ago.  And frankly, the only issue with the courts was that they lost telephone service.  It’s not like they were in the red zone, like some other people’s (ahem) offices were.  BFD.

If this constitutes an “unparalleled ability to promote and achieve reform in the state courts,” then we are in deep, deep trouble.  All the other judicial bureaucrats must really suck if they can’t come up with a single concrete reason to give the award to Justice Lippman.

Now I have no particular issue with Jonathon Lippman winning an award.  He’s done a pretty good job as PJ at the first department, and he proving to be a darn good judge now that he’s out of the administrative offices and sitting on the big bench instead.  But this award is tantamount to damning with faint praise.  There has got to be something substantive they can say about him.  Anything?

Maybe that’s why they call it the Rehnquist award?