But how are their decisions to be known?

The eleventh official Reporter of New York was born in Barkhamstead, Connecticut, on September 6, 1811. Tiffany attended Amherst College, married Caroline Tyron, and moved to Elyria, Ohio, by 1835. He practiced law in Elyria and Medina, Ohio, for several years, including a brief term as a prosecuting attorney. He also was active in the early Republican party and was instrumental in establishing its platform on several issues. During the years preceding the Civil War, Tiffany achieved prominence as an outspoken advocate of abolition, culminating in his book, A Treatise on the Unconstitutionality of American Slavery, published in 1849. Upon relocating to New York City in the 1850s, Tiffany published Tiffany’s Monthly, a periodical "Devoted to the Investigation of Spiritual Science." His published 1859 interview with Book of Mormon witness Martin Harris remains an important historical resource on the origins of Mormonism. From 1863 to 1868, while residing in Albany, he served as State Reporter and published volumes 28 to 39 of the New York Reports. During his tenure as State Reporter, Tiffany authored several legal treatises, including The Law of Trusts and Trustees, as Administered in England and America (1862) and Tiffany & Smith’s New York Practice (1864). In 1869, Tiffany moved to Illinois, where he became the first president of the Village of Hinsdale in 1873. After the death of Caroline Tyron, he was married to Margaret Mason. Tiffany was the father of nine children. He died in Hinsdale on July 1, 1893. (Photography courtesy of the Hinsdale Historical Society)
The twelfth official Reporter, Samuel Hand was born on May 1, 1833 in Elizabethtown, New York, the son of Augustus C. Hand, who served as Justice of the Supreme Court and ex-officio Judge of the Court of Appeals. Hand was a precocious student and graduated from Union College at the age of 17. He studied law with his father and, following his admission to the bar, continued to practice law with him until 1859. Hand relocated to Albany and established a practice there, soon becoming a partner in one of the leading law firms in the state. In 1863 he was appointed Corporation Counsel of Albany. Hand was appointed State Reporter in 1869, a position he held until 1871. During his tenure six volumes of the New York Reports were published. In 1875 Hand was appointed to the Commission on Reform of Municipal Government. He was appointed Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals in 1878 to fill the seat left vacant by Judge William F. Allen until Allen’s term of office expired in 1879. Judge Hand then served as the second president of the newly formed New York State Bar Association, succeeding former Court of Appeals Judge John K. Porter. Judge Hand died on May 21, 1886 in Albany. In a lifetime of achievement, one of Judge Hand’s most notable legacies was his son, Learned Hand, who became one of the most distinguished and respected jurists of the twentieth century. (Photograph courtesy of the Court of Appeals Collection)
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