Changes are coming for the Columbian Lawyers Association (CLA), First Judicial Department, as it recently announced that it has officially changed the name of its prestigious award from the Rapallo Award to the Charles A. Rapallo and Justice Antonin Scalia Award, in honor of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
“The award will be that much more prestigious as we honor the name of the First Italian-American to be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States,” said CLA President Marianne Bertuna. “As many of you know, Charles A. Rapallo was the first Italian-American judge elected to the New York State Court of Appeals.”
As a result, this year’s 51st annual luncheon has also been renamed the Charles A. Rapallo and Justice Antonin Scalia Award Luncheon.
The CLA, which is an affiliate of the National Italian American Bar Association, decided to rename the award after the recent death of Scalia this past February in order to honor his Italian heritage.
“Regardless of how you may feel about his politics, Justice Antonin Scalia’s life story made me proud to be Italian-American,” Bertuna told the Brooklyn Eagle immediately following Scalia’s death. “I will remember the loving husband he was to Mrs. Scalia, the adoring grandfather he was to his grandchildren and the supportive father he was to his children.”
Scalia was actually given the Rapallo Award in 1993. The distinguished award has also been given to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito (2007), former New York Gov. George Pataki (1998), former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (1996) and former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo (1976).
This year’s luncheon will honor Frank R. Seddio, former judge in the Kings County Surrogate’s Court. It will take place on Friday, April 15, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan.
