New York State Bar Association Judicial Section Confers Prestigious Awards
1.21.2022
Hon. Robert G. Main, Jr., the longest serving state court judge in the Fourth Judicial District, and the Hon. Kathie E. Davidson, dean of the New York State Judicial Institute, will be honored by the New York State Bar Association on Friday, Jan. 28 at its 2022 Annual Meeting.
Judge Main, of Malone, will receive the Judicial Section’s Distinguished Jurist Award, which recognizes judicial excellence and extraordinary commitment to the law.
Judge Davidson will receive the section’s Judicial Diversity Award, which recognizes individuals for their commitment to diversity and inclusion at all levels of the judiciary.
The Judicial Section awards will be presented on Jan. 28.
“Across the state, New Yorkers have benefited from the hard work, intellect and dedication of Judges Main and Davidson,” said Denise Hartman, presiding member of the Judicial Section and acting Supreme Court Justice. “They have raised the bar for all judges and are, indeed, most deserving recipients.”
Judge Main was elected as Franklin County Judge in 1987 and was re-elected to the bench in 1997, 2007 and 2017. He also serves as surrogate, acting Family Court judge, and acting Supreme Court justice. Judge Main founded both the Adult Treatment and Family Treatment courts in Franklin County. He also presides over the Integrated Domestic Violence part of Supreme Court. He is the senior trial judge in the Fourth Judicial District and the longest tenured surrogate in the state. He is a member and past secretary of the Franklin County Bar Association.
Hon. Kathie E. Davidson has served as Dean of the New York State Judicial Institute, a statewide judicial education and research center focused on the latest developments in the law, since July 2021. As dean, Judge Davidson oversees the creation and delivery of training seminars for newly elected and appointed Unified Court System judges, continuing education programs for UCS judges and lawyers, and cooperative education programs with state and federal judicial systems and legal academics.
Judge Davidson was elected to Westchester Family Court in 2004, re-elected in 2014, and subsequently served as acting Supreme Court Justice. In 2018, she became the first African-American woman appointed as supervising judge in the Ninth Judicial District, the first woman to be appointed administrative judge in the Ninth Judicial District, and the first African-American to be appointed administrative judge outside of New York City.
Honoring attorneys who render extraordinary service to the public and the profession is part of NYSBA’s Annual Meeting tradition. The 145th Annual Meeting will focus on more than 65 different topics and run Jan. 18 – 28. Subjects of discussion will include but not be limited to Law and Ethics during the Pandemic: Individual Rights vs. the Common Good; New York State’s Surprise Billing Law Against the Backdrop of the Federal No Surprises Act; New York Energy Leadership: Can NY Become a Hub for the Energy Industry?; and Prosecutors and the Color of Justice: The Role of the Prosecutor in Reforming the Criminal Justice System.
The Presidential Summit on Thursday, Jan. 20, focused on two of the leading social justice and civil rights matters of the day: a reevaluation of the #MeToo Movement, and the intersection of transgender rights and sports. Attorney General Letitia James provided the keynote address.
Other featured speakers at the Annual Meeting include Court of Appeals Judge Anthony Cannataro; Lily Batchelder, assistant secretary for tax policy, Department of the Treasury; and retired Court of Appeals Judge Leslie Stein, director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School.
For more information on NYSBA’s Annual Meeting, click here. Media are invited to most virtual programs but please notify Susan DeSantis at sdesantis@nysba.org or 201-575-5756 and Brandon Vogel at bvogel@nysba.org or 518-487-5644.
About the New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. Since 1876, NYSBA has helped shape the development of law, educated and informed the legal profession and the public, and championed the rights of New Yorkers through advocacy and guidance in our communities.
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