Judith S. Kaye is the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court.

She was appointed New York’s chief judge in 1993 by Gov. Mario M. Cuomo and is the first woman to occupy that post. She was also the first woman to serve on the Court of Appeals, which she joined in 1983. Chief Judge Kaye is president-elect of the Conference of Chief Justices and chair-elect of the National Center for State Courts. She is a member of the American Law Institute, the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Kaye is the author of numerous publications, particularly articles dealing with legal process, state constitutional law, women in law, and professional ethics. Among other awards, Kaye is the recipient of the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession’s Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, the National Center for State Courts’ William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, and New York University Law School's Vanderbilt Medal.