[caption id="attachment_160988" align="alignnone" width="767"] The investiture ceremony for Shirley Troutman, Madeline Singas and Anthony Cannataro at the New York State Court of Appeals in Albany, New York on April 5, 2022. Photo: Ryland West/ALM[/caption] Three judges who have devoted their entire adult careers to public service comprise nearly half of the seven-member New York Court of Appeals with Tuesday's ceremonial investitures of Madeline Singas, Anthony Cannataro and Shirley Troutman as the court's 114th, 115th and 116th associate justices, respectively.  The state Senate in June confirmed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's appointments of Cannataro, a former administrative judge of the civil court of New York City, who filled the vacancy left by the late Judge Paul Feinman, and Singas, a former Nassau County district attorney who filled the vacancy left by retired Judge Leslie Stein. Both Singas and Cannataro have been serving in the high court for a year. Gov. Kathy Hochul in November selected Troutman, a former justice in the Appellate Division, Third Department, who previously served as a prosecutor and judge, and is now the second Black woman to sit on the Appeals Court.  Troutman succeeds the retired Judge Eugene Fahey, who retired in December when he reached the court's mandatory retirement age of 70. During the ceremony, Troutman thanked Hochul, who as Hamburg's town supervisor, invited Troutman to her home to meet with others, which Troutman said resulted in her being elected Erie County's first judge of color "and thus paved the way to this court." The Senate approved the appointment of Troutman in January. Singas, the daughter of Greek immigrants, and who was born and raised in Astoria, Queens, began her legal career as an assistant district attorney serving in the district attorney's offices in Queens and Nassau counties, rising through the ranks and eventually serving as the elected district attorney in Nassau County, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said in her introduction.  Singas is an effective leader, focusing her efforts on improving the lives of women, children and families, and she recently worked to mobilize support at the state and national level for the resettlement of Afghan women judges and justice system refugees, connecting them to career placement opportunities in the New York State Courts, DiFiore said of the first Greek American to serve on the state's high court.  "Most judges at their investitures speak in anticipatory language about what they think the work with their colleagues will be like," Singas said. "But having been on the court for nearly a year, I can attest to the fact that the work is invigorating and meaningful, and the judges are indeed brilliant, meticulous, thoughtful and discerning." Cannataro, the son of Italian immigrants who started his legal career as an assistant corporation counsel in the New York City Law Department, was eventually appointed administrative judge of the New York City Civil Court in an important supervisory position that included the much-watched housing court, during a particularly time of the pandemic and lengthy eviction moratorium, the chief judge said. "Since joining our court Judge Cannataro has proved himself to be an excellent colleague, bright, industrious, caring, curious intellectually, and certainly devoted to the work of our court," DiFiore said. During his year in the judgeship, Cannataro said he's found the job difficult. "The issues are incredibly important, usually of statewide significance and always challenging. The law to be applied is layered and complex. And all too often, it is challenging to harmonize one sense of fairness with the requirements of the law. We take on the hard questions here. So today, I view my oath more as a renewed promise to fully apply all of my training, my experience and whatever ability I have in service to the people of the state of New York." Troutman, a native of Georgia who was raised and educated in Buffalo until she left to attend Albany Law School, has also served as an assistant New York state attorney general, and then as an assistant U.S. attorney in New York's Western District. Troutman said the first time she ever entered the Appeals Court courtroom was as a first-year student at Albany Law School.  "So to be here now, as a member of the court, is certainly surreal," Troutman said. Hochul said: "According to Thurgood Marshall, the process of democracy, is one of change. Our laws are not frozen into immutable form. They're constantly in the process of revision and response to the needs of a changing society. We have seen our society change dramatically. And to know that the firewall from the diminishing of those rights that have been so long and hard fought for is right here. The responsibly of that protection lies in this court."