The Fund for Modern Courts and Albany Law School will host the fifteenth Hugh R. Jones Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, April 24^th at 6:00 p.m. at Albany Law School (1928 Building), in the Dean Alexander Moot Courtroom, 80 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, New York.

The Honorable Susan Phillips Read, Associate Judge of the NYS Court of Appeals (Ret.), will present the lecture entitled Musings on Stare Decisis in New York's Court of Last Resort, which will explore why and whether stare decisis constrains decision making in a court of last resort, with special emphasis on the New York Court of Appeals.

Named for former New York State Court of Appeals Associate Judge Hugh R. Jones, the lecture series examines important themes in the justice system through research and writing by an experienced and well-respected jurist.

The Honorable Janet DiFiore, Chief Judge of the State of New York, will introduce Judge Read. The program will begin with welcoming remarks by Alicia Ouellette, President and Dean, Albany Law School, and Barry A. Bohrer, Chair of the Fund for Modern Courts. The lecture will be followed by a reception in the East Foyer of Albany Law School.

The Honorable Susan Phillips Read is a former Associate Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, where she served for 12 years beginning in 2003.  During her tenure, Judge Read authored an even 200 signed majority opinions addressing issues of employment and labor law, including at-will employment and telecommuting; insurance law, coverage of mental disabilities; conversion of a not-for-profit insurer to a for-profit corporation; tax law, including the constitutionality of New York's "convenience of the employer" test; criminal law; and commercial law, including issues related to liquidated damages, and residential mortgage-backed securities. She also authored 62 dissents addressing such issues as school funding, consequential damages, and the accrual of the statute of limitations in suits against the State.

Prior to her service on the Court of Appeals, Judge Read served as a judge of the New York State Court of Claims, where she was designated Presiding Judge, from 1998 until her appointment to the Court of Appeals. From 1995 through 1997, she served as Deputy Counsel to Governor George E. Pataki. Before that, she was a partner at Bond, Schoeneck & King (1988-1994); in-house counsel for General Electric Co. (1977-1988), Chief Environmental Counsel, nationwide (1980-1985); and Assistant Counsel, State University of New York (1974-1977). Judge Read, an Ohio native, is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the University of Chicago Law School. 

Judge Read currently is Of Counsel at Greenberg Traurig, LLP and serves as an expert on New York law in arbitrations and counsels clients prosecuting or defending appeals.

The lecture's title honoree, Judge Hugh R. Jones, was a leader in efforts to ensure fair and efficient courts in New York State.  He served as Chair of the Commission on Judicial Nomination; Chair of the Temporary State Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Compensation; Chair of the Select Committee on Correctional Institutions and Programs; President of the New York State Bar Association; and Director of the Committee for Modern Courts.  Judge Jones also authored a leading article on judging, Cogitations on Appellate Decision-Making. 

The previous Jones Memorial Lectures have been presented by three former Chief Judges of the State of New York - the Honorable Judith S. Kaye, the Honorable Johnathan Lippman, and the Honorable Sol Wachtler, and nine distinguished former Associate Judges of the New York State Court of Appeals - Hon. Richard C. Wesley; Hon. Howard A. Levine; Hon. Stewart F. Hancock, Jr.; Hon. Richard D. Simons; Hon. Joseph W. Bellacosa; Hon. George Bundy Smith; Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt, Hon. Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick and Hon. Robert S. Smith; and Hon. Richard J. Bartlett, a former Chief Administrative Judge of the State of New York; and Hon. Randall T. Eng, Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, Second Department.

This program offers one Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit of Professional Practice. 

The Fund for Modern Courts is an independent nonpartisan statewide court reform organization committed to improving the court system for all New Yorkers. Modern Courts supports a judiciary that provides for the fair administration of justice, equal access to the courts, and that is independent, highly qualified and diverse. By research, public outreach, education and lobbying efforts, Modern Courts seeks to advance these goals and to ensure that the public confidence in the judiciary remains strong.