The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. (Photo: Ken Lund) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Photo: Ken Lund

Karen Greve Milton, the circuit executive for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, has said that she will officially step down Friday after more than two decades working for the appeals court.

In a letter obtained by the New York Law Journal, Milton told judges and staff that she was leaving to take a job as deputy inspector general and chief of staff in the New York State Office of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Inspector General.

“Having enjoyed greatly my work in the federal judiciary and the Second Circuit, it in now timely for me to step aside and commence a new career challenge,” Milton wrote in the letter, dated June 20.

“I have enjoyed serving all of you during my tenure as your circuit executive. I wish each of you continued success, good health and much satisfaction in the administration of justice,” she said.

The first woman to hold the post, she is also the longest-serving circuit executive in the Second Circuit's history.

In her letter, Milton said she was most proud of the circuit's “enduring recovery” following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, as well as the development of a circuitwide committee administration system.

During her tenure, Milton was also key to the implementation of a space-management program across the entire circuit and multiple construction projects, including renovations to the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse and the new Robert H. Jackson federal courthouse in Buffalo.

“In all things, the rule of law endured and prospered in the second Circuit,” she said.

A vacancy announcement was posted to the Second Circuit's website July 1. According to the posting, the position pays up to $210,900 per year, but salary is based on qualification and experience.

There was no word Monday on the status of the search for Milton's successor.

Reached for comment, Milton said it had been a privilege the serve in the role.

“I'm going to miss the courts, but I'm looking forward to my new position … it's been a great gig,” she said.

The search for the new circuit executive will be headed by Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, who will recommend qualified candidates for a vote by the Second Circuit Judicial Council, a group that includes Katzmann, the chief judges of the six district courts within the Second Circuit and the six most senior circuit court judges.

Katzmann's chambers did not reply Monday evening to a call placed to the court seeking comment on Milton's resignation.

Under federal statute, the circuit executive oversees an 11-employee office in its support of the circuit chief judge and the Judicial Council and coordinates a wide range of administrative matters for all federal courts within the circuit, including space and facilities, media relations, security and the selection and reappointment of bankruptcy judges and federal public defenders.

 

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