336
The Green Bag
the most auspicious factor in the exist ing situation. If the bill is passed he will at once take up the work of prepar ing a plan for the simplification of prac tice which will be presented for adoption at the next legislative session.
By many New York lawyers in a good position to form an estimate of Judge Rodenbeck's ability, it is felt that there is no one, either in the state or out of it, who is so well qualified for preparing
such a plan, or whose suggestions are more likely to meet with favor by the judiciary and bar of the state. Judge Rodenbeck is a native of Rochester, in which city he resides. He was educated at the University of Rochester, being admitted to the bar
of the state of New York in 1887.
He
was corporation counsel of Rochester from 1894 to 1898, member of the New York Assembly in 1900 and 1901, and Mayor of Rochester in 1902 and 1903. He was appointed by Governor Odell
to the bench of the Court of Claims be fore his term as Mayor expired. While Judge Rodenbeck was in the Assembly he became the mainstay of a joint committee which was investigating the methods of the Statutory Revision Commission which had been engaged
since 1889 in revising the statutes of the state. This committee completed
Hornblower and John G. Milbum. Judge Andrews being unable to serve,
his place was filled by the appointment of Mr. Moot. Justice Landon died not long after the Board began its labors, but the other members carried the undertaking to its completion. In 1909 the Legislature enacted the con
solidated laws and repealed all other general laws, thus bringing order from
chaos, and making available a convenient and scientific classification of the statute law of the state. The Board of Statutory Consolida tion was empowered to revise the Code of Civil Procedure as well as to consoli date the statutes, in accordance with the efforts of the New York State Bar Association, extending back nearly
twenty-five years, to secure a reforma tion of the practice. The Board found, however, that it was physically incap able of accomplishing both undertak
ings, and confined its attention to revision of the substantive law. The revision of the practice was felt to be so delicate and difficult a task as to call for independent treatment at some sub sequent time.
The Board did, however,
prepare the way for such a revision, as it removed from the Code of Civil Procedure more than five hundred sec tions or parts of sections of a substan
the unprecedented task of examining every New York session law from the earliest times. The results accomplished
tive character.
under Judge Rodenbeck's direction were
scientific consolidation of the statutes,
of New York" read before the State Bar Association last January, Judge Rodenbeck reviewed the history of the Code of Civil Procedure, and of the
that the Board of Statutory Consoli
numerous attempts and projects to re
dation was created in 1904 by act of the Legislature. Judge Rodenbeck's asso ciates on this Board were Hon. Charles
which might be utilized in re-arranging
so favorable to statutory reform, and
his report was so encouraging for a
Andrews of Syracuse, former Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, Justice Judson S. Landon of Schenectady, William B.
In his paper on “The Reform of the Procedure in the Courts of the State
form its evils, and indicated the design the materials of the code.
“Some basis
must be adopted which will appeal to
the mind as consistent and which will be broad enough to take in all the
