But how are their decisions to be known?

	James Flavin, the twenty-first official Reporter, was born on March 13, 1908. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Syracuse University in 1933, and from Syracuse Law School in 1935. Flavin was appointed Law Clerk to Judge Irving G. Hubbs of the Court of Appeals in 1937, and Clerk in the Office of the Clerk of the Court of Appeals in 1938. He left the Court in 1941 to practice law with Cravath, deGersdorff, Swaine & Wood in New York City. From 1943 to 1945 he served in the United States Army and graduated from the Army Intelligence Japanese Language School in 1945. In 1945 he rejoined the Court as First Deputy State Reporter. Flavin’s tenure as State Reporter, from 1953 to 1976, spanned the First and Second Series of the Official Reports. As State Reporter, he was responsible for publishing 180 volumes, including 14 volumes from the First Series (four of the New York Reports, five of the Appellate Division Reports, and five of the Miscellaneous Reports) and 166 volumes from the Second Series (37 New York Reports, 48 Appellate Division Reports, and 81 Miscellaneous Reports). For a two-year period from 1972 to 1974, he also served as Clerk of the Court of Appeals. He was a member of the American, New York State, and Albany County Bar Associations, serving as chairman of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Electronic Legal Research from 1969 to 1973 and chairman of the American Bar Association Committee on Technology and the Courts. An active Rotarian, he was a district governor of Rotary International and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Albany Rotary Foundation. He also was president of the Alumni Association of Syracuse Law School and a member of the Albany Historical Society and the University Club of Albany. He was married to Magdaline Piefer, and they had two children. Flavin died in Albany on July 13, 1984.
	Fitzpatrick, a lifelong resident of Albany, was born on November 10, 1922. His father, who died in 1933, was a library section head of the New York State Library and from 1926 to 1928 was president of the American Association of Law Libraries. Fitzpatrick attended Siena College from 1940 to 1942, and graduated from Albany Law School in 1944. Later in 1944, he joined the Law Reporting Bureau, starting what would be a 46-year career with the Bureau. He served under three State Reporters — Edward J. Dimock, Leland F. Coss, and James M. Flavin — before being appointed Reporter in 1976. During his 14-year tenure as Reporter, Fitzpatrick published 211 volumes, including 38 volumes of the New York Reports, 108 volumes of the Appellate Division Reports, and 65 volumes of the Miscellaneous Reports. This represents the greatest number of volumes published by any Reporter in the history of official law reporting in New York. Fitzpatrick was a communicant of the Holy Cross Church in Albany and a member of the New York State Bar Association, University Club, and Steuben Athletic Club. He was an avid reader, known to have a good sense of humor, and enjoyed close family ties. Fitzpatrick died in Albany on May 23, 1998.
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