Steven D. Hurd, a partner at Proskauer Rose and son of Senior United States District Judge David N. Hurd, delivered the following remarks at the dedication of a federal courtroom in Utica to Judge Hurd, on August 26, 2026.
I’m not entirely convinced that this isn’t less about recognizing my dad and more about all of you celebrating that he finally went senior status. But either way, we’ll take it.
Steven Hurd speaks during the courtroom dedication ceremony honoring his father, Senior United States Judge David N. Hurd, on August 26, 2026, at the Alexander Pirnie Federal Building in Utica.
Chief Judge Sannes and Judges of the Northern District of New York, thank you so much for this wonderful honor of my dad. And a special thank you to Judge Brindisi, Reg Miller, Phil McBrearty, Craig Miner – who quite possibly has the best voice to ever say “All Rise” – all of Dad’s many law clerks, and all of you who have supported him over all these years. Your dedication and loyalty to him have been wonderful and truly appreciated.
Many of us here today were here in 1991, when Dad was sworn in as a Magistrate Judge. And we were also here in this courtroom in 1999, when he was sworn in as a District Judge. And since then, there have been countless trials and arguments and motions and hearings, and what Dad would call “great fun.” And perhaps what makes him most proud, is this courtroom has hosted dozens of naturalization ceremonies where some very wonderful people have been sworn in as U.S. citizens.
Our dad loves this courtroom. He loves this building, and all of you who work in it. He loves the lawyers who have come before him over the years. I know sometimes it didn’t feel that way. Believe me, I am very familiar with his version of tough love. But he did love you, and he does love you. And he loves the legal community here and he loves the Greater Utica-Rome community. And that’s why I am certain that this is so special to him because he’s being recognized by all of you, and all of you mean the world to him. So, again, on behalf of our family, thank you so much for this terrific tribute.
And on a personal note, Dad, I am so grateful to be your son, and I could not tell you how proud of you I am. Congratulations on a very well-earned and well-deserved honor.
United States District Judge Anthony J. Brindisi delivered the following remarks at the dedication of a federal courtroom in Utica to Judge Hurd, on August 26, 2026.
It is an honor to stand here in this courtroom in honor of Judge David Hurd. And it’s fair to say that I would not be standing here today as a District Court Judge without him. I owe so much of my career to Judge Hurd not only as an attorney, but now a judge. This man has done so much for me over the years. And it’s almost 20 years ago that I tried my first case in this courtroom in front of Judge Hurd after he swore me in as a federal practitioner.
He gave me my first assignment as an attorney. I was pro bono trial counsel for an incarcerated individual in a Section 1983 case. The first thing I did in the case was ask to reopen discovery, which he immediately denied.
We tried the case for about a week, right here, and the jury ultimately sided with the defendants. As you can imagine, as a new attorney, I was feeling pretty dejected, but Judge Hurd pulled me aside afterward and he told me that I had done a good job, that juries don’t typically take that long to deliberate on these types of cases, and at least I had given them something to think about. He encouraged me to keep getting into the courtroom, and those words have stayed with me ever since.
Judge Hurd took the bench nearly 35 years ago, in an era of paper dockets and mandatory Sentencing Guidelines. He stepped into senior status, having presided through the shift to electronic courts, discretionary sentencing, and a legal landscape that’s been reshaped by technology none of us could ever have predicted.
Through it all, what matters most about him never changed. His fairness, his patience, his respect for the bar, and the countless litigants that have appeared before him over the years.
It’s no secret that Judge Hurd often speaks about his hero, Robert Kennedy, who once said that law is the glue that holds our civilization together. And I cannot think of a judge who has lived that idea more fully.
Throughout every chapter of his career, from accomplished trial lawyer to judge, he has been supported by his wife, Connie, and their children and grandchildren. One of my favorite parts of every week comes on Wednesdays, when Judge Hurd is here to handle criminal proceedings. Before he takes the bench, he always stops by my chambers and we get to talk for a few minutes.
He’s a great storyteller. And one of my favorite stories is how he ended up in law school in the first place. I don’t think I’ll be out of line for telling this story, but I think it’s fair to say that if it wasn’t for Connie, we might be gathered here today honoring the accountant David Hurd, not the Judge Dave Hurd.
As the story goes, she urged him to go to law school, so he went up to Syracuse, walked into the dean’s office, said he wanted to attend law school. Apparently, the dean only had two questions for him at that point in time. First, did he really go to Cornell. And, second, could he pay. Well, Judge Hurd answered correctly on both counts, and the rest is history. I guess they did things a little differently back then, getting into law school.
While many in this room are familiar with Judge Hurd’s contributions to the bench and the bar, what many in this room may not know is how much Judge Hurd has meant to the Utica-Rome community. Without him, there likely would not be a federal courthouse in Utica today, and this building might have become an eyesore in downtown Utica. His efforts have kept the doors open through the decades and ensured access to justice for thousands of people every year.
Photo Credits: Lisa Salisbury Hackley