Uncrowned Community Builders

Samuel L. Green, Senior Associate Justice, received his law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law and was admitted to practice on April 3, 1968. He practiced law in Buffalo as a criminal defense attorney until his appointment to Buffalo City Court in 1973. In November 1978, he was elected to Supreme Court. Justice Samuel L. Green is the first African American male to be elected to the New York State Supreme Court, outside of New York City. He is also the first African American to be appointed to serve on the New York State Appellate Division. Justice Green was designated an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, on February 25, 1983 by Governor Cuomo. He is one of two African American Jurists serving on this level of the Court in the entire state of New York.

Justice Green has been recommended by the Commission on Judicial Nomination to the New York State Court of Appeals four times. Justice Green was designated by Chief Judge Kaye to sit on the Court of Appeals in June 2002, where he sat and decided cases. He has also served as Acting Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. Justice Green authored ââ?¬Å?General Obligations Law Section 15-108: An Unsettling Lawââ?¬, published in the New York State Bar Journal (October 1983) and ââ?¬Å?The Good Faith Exception to the Exclusionary Ruleââ?¬, published in the New York Law Journal (March 2, 1986).

Justice Green is a lifetime member of the NAACP and the Buffalo Urban League and serves on the governing board of the Albright Know Art Gallery. He was a member of the New York State Judicial Commission on Minorities. In addition he served on the Governorââ?¬â?¢s Advisory Panel for Project 2000, and was a member of the committee to Utilize the Services of Retired Judges and the New York State Task Force on Permanency Planning for Children in Foster Care.

In 1977, Justice Green received an Honorary Degree of Humane Letters from Canisius College for his outstanding work on the municipal courts. Justice Green received the 1995 Outstanding Award from the Erie County Bar Association and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law. He was also given the award of merit for distinguished service on the trial bench by the New York State Trial Lawyerââ?¬â?¢s Association. In 1996 Justice Green received the Edwin F. Jaeckle Award, the University at Buffalo Law Schoolââ?¬â?¢s highest honor. The Jaeckle Award is given annually to an individual who has distinguished him/herself and made significant contributions to the law school and the profession.

In 2006, Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye appointed Justice Green to a special committee to review the structure of New York Stateââ?¬â?¢s trial court system. The Special Commission on the Future of the New York State Courts has been charged with assessing the effectiveness of the stateââ?¬â?¢s current court structure and proposing reforms that will enable the courts to better meet the needs and expectations of New Yorkers in the years and decades ahead. The commission is comprised of a prestigious blue-ribbon panel of respected lawyers, civic leaders, government and private sector representatives, academicians, and sitting and former trial and appellate court judges.

He has been a mentor and advisor to all of the minority members of the Judiciary in Western New York as well as to many non-minorities.

Justice Green is married to Ernestine Green, an Uncrowned Queen.