Judith Kaye

Judith Ann Kaye (née Smith; August 4, 1938 – January 7, 2016) was an American lawyer and jurist. She was the longtime Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, serving in that position from March 23, 1993 until December 31, 2008. She was the first woman to serve as chief judge, the highest judicial office in the New York state, and the longest-serving chief judge in New York history.
Kaye died on January 7, 2016, at her home in Manhattan, New York from cancer, aged 77.