Learned Hand — Born Billings Learned Hand in Albany in 1872, he was nominated by Calvin Coolidge to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1924. He served as chief judge from 1948-1951, attaining senior status in 1951 until his death in 1961. Hand served as a judge of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York from 1909 to 1924. He was an avid supporter of free speech, though he is most remembered for applying economic reasoning to American tort law. One of his most famous tools, commonly referred to as the calculus of negligence, first appeared in United States v. Carroll Towing.

Thurgood Marshall—His father instilled in him from youth an appreciation for the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. After amassing an impressive record of Supreme Court challenges to state-sponsored discrimination, including the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, President Kennedy appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In 1965 President Johnson appointed him to the office of U.S. Solicitor General. He won 14 of the 19 cases he argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of the government and he appeared in and won more cases before the United States Supreme Court than any other American. In 1967 he became the first African American elevated to the U.S. Supreme Court and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1991.

Benjamin N. Cardozo—Born in 1870 in New York City, he rose to prominence during 23 years of private practice. He was appointed a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, after sitting on the New York Court of Appeals for eighteen years where he presided as Chief Judge from 1927-1932. He was renowned for his integrity, social consciousness, elegant opinions and highly acclaimed writings including The Nature of the Judicial Process.

Charles Evans Hughes—A native of Glens Falls, he was elected Governor of New York in 1907 and was a candidate for the presidency of the U.S. in 1916 against Woodrow Wilson. He served as Secretary of State under Presidents Harding and Coolidge and in 1930 was appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. A former President of the New York State Bar Association (1917-18), he also served as President of the American Bar Association.