Justice James D. Hopkins: Jurist, Dean, Scholar and Expert on New York Law

Abstract

It is an appropriate tribute to our late Dean James D. Hopkins that this edition of Pace Law Review be dedicated to a man who many leaders of the bench, bar, and academia believe is one of the twentieth century’s greatest common law appellate jurists. Dean Hopkins, better known as Judge Hopkins, was Pace Law School’s second Dean from 1982 to 1983, an associate justice of the Supreme Court of New York, and a justice of the Appellate Division for the Second Department from 1962 to 1981. He authored hundreds of significant majority, dissenting, and concurring judicial opinions on New York law, many of which continue to be relevant to the development of substantive and procedural law in the Empire State. Hopkins’s opinions have been cited and relied on by courts throughout the nation. He is recognized and praised as a “compleat jurist,” a leading law reformer, and an outstanding scholar.