Bernard Stern Meyer (June 7, 1916

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

– September 3, 2005

Valley Stream Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 40,634 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Valley Stream is within the Town of ...

Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a suburban County (United States), county located on Long Island, immediately to the east of New York City, bordering the Long Island Sound on the north and the open Atlantic Ocean to the south. As of the 2020 United St ...

) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

He graduated from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1936, and from

University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law from 1924 to 2011) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1816, it i ...

in 1938. Soon after, he was admitted to the bar in Maryland. he married and they had children. In 1941, he joined the staff of the General Counsel of the U.S. Treasury. From 1943 to 1946, he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in the Pacific Theater of Operations. After the war, he was admitted to the bar in New York, and commenced practice in 1947. In 1958, he was elected to a fourteen-year term on the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

. In

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, he ran on the Democratic and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

tickets for the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

but was defeated. After his loss, New York Governor

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...

released an unusual statement lamenting Meyer's departure from the judiciary, as Meyer's term on the Supreme Court expired at the end of 1972. In 1975, he was appointed Special Deputy

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

to probe into the aftermath of the

Attica Prison riot The Attica Prison riot took place at the state prison in Attica, New York; it started on September 9, 1971, and ended on September 13 with the highest number of fatalities in the history of United States prison uprisings. Of the 43 men who di ...

in 1971. His principal task was to evaluate a charge that crimes alleged to have been committed by law enforcement officers during the siege were later covered up by the State. In December 1975, after an eight-month inquiry, Meyer released the first volume of his findings, a 570-page document that came to be known as the ''Meyer Report''. The report concluded that, despite "serious errors in judgment," there had been "no intentional cover-up" by the prosecution. In 1979, he was appointed by Governor Hugh L. Carey to the Court of Appeals, to the seat vacated by the appointment of Lawrence H. Cooke as

Chief Judge Chief judge may refer to: In lower or circuit courts The highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. * Chief judge (Australia) * Chief judge (United States) In supreme courts Some of Chief ...

. Meyer described himself as “middle-of-the-road on the liberal side,” and his appointment gave liberals a majority on the seven-member court. Meyer retired from the Court of Appeals at the end of 1986 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law as a senior partner in the firm o
Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein
in

Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 23,272 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within the Town of Hempstead ...

. He co-authored, with Burton C. Agata and Seth H. Agata
''The History of the New York Court of Appeals, 1932-2003''
published in 2006 (with his own short bio on page 31), which continues the work ''The History of the New York Court of Appeals 1847-1932'' which was published by Judge

Francis Bergan Francis Bergan (April 20, 1902 Albany, New York – March 23, 1998 Albany, NY) was an American lawyer and politician. Life He was the son of Michael Bergan and Mary Bergan. He was educated at the New York State College for Teachers. Then he worke ...

in 1985.

References

Sources

Court of Appeals judges *
Bernard S. Meyer Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Bernard Stern Judges of the New York Court of Appeals 1916 births 2005 deaths Johns Hopkins University alumni Politicians from Baltimore People from Valley Stream, New York New York Supreme Court justices University of Maryland, Baltimore alumni People from Garden City, New York Lawyers from Baltimore 20th-century New York state court judges 20th-century American lawyers United States Navy personnel of World War II