# List of chief judges of the New York Court of Appeals

The Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, also known as the Chief Judge of New York, supervises the seven-judge New York Court of Appeals. In addition, the chief judge oversees the work of the state's Unified Court system, which as of 2009, had a $2.5 billion annual budget and more than 16,000 employees. The chief judge is also a member of the Judicial Conference of the State of New York.

## Chief judges before 1870

| Name | Took office | Left office | Party | Notes |
| Freeborn G. Jewett | July 5, 1847 | December 31, 1849 | Democratic | |
| Greene C. Bronson | January 1, 1850 | April 1851 | Democratic/Anti-Rent | Resigned |
| Charles H. Ruggles | April 1851 | December 31, 1853 | Democratic | |
| Addison Gardiner | January 1, 1854 | December 31, 1855 | Democratic/Anti-Rent | |
| Hiram Denio | January 1, 1856 | December 31, 1857 | Democratic | |
| Alexander S. Johnson | January 1, 1858 | December 31, 1859 | Democratic | |
| George F. Comstock | January 1, 1860 | December 31, 1861 | American | Elected an associate judge on the American Party ticket, by the time his term as Chief Judge began this party had disbanded, and Comstock had become a Democrat. |
| Samuel L. Selden | January 1, 1862 | July 1, 1862 | Democratic | Resigned |
| Hiram Denio | July 1, 1862 | December 31, 1865 | Democratic | |
| Henry E. Davies | January 1, 1866 | December 31, 1867 | Republican/American | |
| William B. Wright | January 1, 1868 | January 12, 1868 | Union | Elected in 1861 on the Union ticket nominated by War Democrats and Republicans; died in office |
| Ward Hunt | January 12, 1868 | December 31, 1869 | Republican | Subsequently served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court |
| Robert Earl | January 1, 1870 | July 4, 1870 | Democratic | Legislated out of office by constitutional amendment of 1869 |

## Chief judges between 1870 and 1974

| Name | Took office | Left office | Party | Notes |
| Sanford E. Church | July 4, 1870 | May 13, 1880 | Democratic | Died in office |
| Charles J. Folger | May 20, 1880 | November 14, 1881 | Republican | Appointed to fill vacancy, then elected, then resigned to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury |
| Charles Andrews | December 19, 1881 | December 31, 1882 | Republican | Appointed to fill vacancy |
| William C. Ruger | January 1, 1883 | January 14, 1892 | Democratic | Died in office |
| Robert Earl | January 19, 1892 | December 31, 1892 | Dem./Rep. | Appointed to fill vacancy |
| Charles Andrews | January 1, 1893 | December 31, 1897 | Rep./Dem. | Age-limited |
| Alton B. Parker | January 1, 1898 | August 5, 1904 | Democratic | Resigned to run on the Democratic ticket for U.S. President |
| Edgar M. Cullen | September 2, 1904 | December 31, 1913 | Dem./Rep. | Appointed to fill vacancy, then elected, then age-limited |
| Willard Bartlett | January 1, 1914 | December 31, 1916 | Democratic | Age-limited |
| Frank H. Hiscock | January 1, 1917 | December 31, 1926 | Rep./Progr. | Age-limited |
| Benjamin N. Cardozo | January 1, 1927 | March 7, 1932 | Dem./Rep. | Resigned to become an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court |
| Cuthbert W. Pound | March 8, 1932 | December 31, 1934 | Rep./Dem. | Appointed to fill vacancy, then elected, then age-limited |
| Frederick E. Crane | January 1, 1935 | December 31, 1939 | Rep./Dem. | Age-limited |
| Irving Lehman | January 1, 1940 | September 22, 1945 | Dem./Rep./Am. Labor | Died in office |
| John T. Loughran | September 28, 1945 | March 31, 1953 | Dem./Rep./Am. Labor/Lib. | Appointed to fill vacancy, then elected, then died in office |
| Edmund H. Lewis | April 22, 1953 | December 31, 1954 | Rep./Dem./Lib. | Appointed to fill vacancy, then elected, then age-limited |
| Albert Conway | January 1, 1955 | December 31, 1959 | Dem./Rep. | Age-limited |
| Charles S. Desmond | January 1, 1960 | December 31, 1966 | Dem./Rep. | Age-limited |
| Stanley H. Fuld | January 1, 1967 | December 31, 1973 | Rep./Dem. | Age-limited |
| Charles D. Breitel | January 1, 1974 | December 31, 1978 | Rep./Lib. | Last elected Chief Judge; age-limited |

## Chief judges since 1974

After 1974, judges of the New York Court of Appeals were no longer elected, following reforms to the New York Constitution. Instead, an appointment process was created.
| Name | Took office | Left office | Appointed by | Notes |
| Lawrence H. Cooke | January 23, 1979 | December 31, 1984 | Hugh Carey | First Chief Judge appointed by the Governor under constitutional amendment of 1977; age-limited |
| Sol Wachtler | January 2, 1985 | November 11, 1992 | Mario Cuomo | Resigned |
| Richard D. Simons (acting) | November 17, 1992 | March 22, 1993 | n/a | Acted until the appointment of a successor |
| Judith S. Kaye | March 23, 1993 | December 31, 2008 | Mario Cuomo | Reached mandatory retirement age; Chief Judge with the longest tenure (more than 15 years), only Chief Judge to complete a 14-year term |
| Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick (acting) | January 1, 2009 | February 10, 2009 | n/a | Acted until the appointment of a successor |
| Jonathan Lippman | February 11, 2009 | December 31, 2015 | David Paterson | |
| Eugene F. Pigott Jr. (acting) | January 1, 2016 | January 21, 2016 | n/a | |
| Janet DiFiore | January 21, 2016 | August 31, 2022 | Andrew Cuomo | |
| Anthony Cannataro (acting) | September 1, 2022 | April 18, 2023 | n/a | Acted until the appointment of a successor |
| Rowan D. Wilson | April 19, 2023 | incumbent | Kathy Hochul | |