The 4-2 decision of the New York State Court of Appeals denying
that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry was
more than just a blow to the gay rights movement. It was the
most visible example of a project that has taken Governor George
Pataki three full terms to accomplish and is not yet complete:
establishing a solidly conservative appellate judiciary in a
state that had a well-deserved reputation for a liberal one.
Although the issue of gay marriage may not be the best issue to
assess the court's direction, the decision on same sex marriage
"does not auger well for the future of civil liberties in this
court, " said Art Eisenberg, legal director of the New York
Civil Liberties Union. “Up until recently, this was a centrist
court that could go back and forth,” he said. But now, he said,
“we are increasingly disappointed by the capacity of the state
courts to protect individual rights, so we have chosen federal
courts more frequently than state courts to bring our cases.”
The Appeals Court In