A funeral was held Monday morning in Manhattan for former New York State Chief Judge Judith Kaye, who died last week at age 77. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report.
Judge Judith Kaye broke barriers. She was the first woman to preside over the state's highest court, holding the position for 15 years, the longest in state history.
"This elegant, classy, graceful debonair woman was a revolutionary," said former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "And the revolution she ignited helped countless Americans get their lives back on track and stay out of jail, and have spared countless more people from being victims of crime."
Her funeral on Monday brought together big names in politics and law. State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Former Governor Eliot Spitzer. Police Commissioner William Bratton. Former Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo did not attend.
Kaye died on Thursday from cancer. She was 77.
She opposed the death penalty repeatedly from the bench and authored a high-profile dissent in 2006 in support of gay marriage.
"The court's ruling was an enormous disappointment," said former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. "Her dissent was kind of the only bright light we had. And everybody clung to it almost like a light preserver that this woman of such brilliance and such stature said it would get fixed eventually. And it did.
Kaye's three children wore red in honor of their mother. It was her signature color.
"The most vibrant color reflecting the most vibrant soul it adorned," said Luisa Kaye Hagemeier, Kaye's daughter.
The location of the service was particularly fitting. Kaye loved to attend the opera at Lincoln Center.
Her son Gordon read from a column NY1 political director Bob Hardt wrote about Kaye. Hardt said Kaye deserved to be center stage getting a standing ovation.
"I ask everyone to stand and join me in giving her the standing ovation she deserves," Gordon Kaye said.