The Seven — Profiles of the Finalists for New York's Highest Court:

Transit Stop:
Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Theodore Jones did what AG Eliot Spitzer asked. Which might mean the latter won't elevate the former.
—By Jesse Sunenblick

The Contrarian:
Appellate jurist Richard Andrias offers a record of well-respected dissent.
—By Jason Boog

The Litigator:
George Carpinello is a white male partner at the controversial plaintiffs firm Boies Schiller. Talk about a dark horse.
—By Jason Boog

Idea Man:
Appellate jurist Steven Fisher is intellectually curious . . . and one of former Governor Pataki's favorite Democrats on the bench.
—By Jesse Sunenblick

Stuck in the Middle:
Too liberal for George Pataki, Thomas Mercure seems too conservative for Eliot Spitzer.
—By Mark Thompson

The Bureaucrat:
Juanita Bing Newton is a respected administrator who has improved justice for the indigent. But she has not presided over a case in a decade. Does trial experience even matter on the Court of Appeals?
—By Jesse Sunenblick

Defensive Guard:
Manhattan Supreme Court judge James Yates is a big champion of the defense bar. Will a former prosecutor promote him?
—By Mark Thompson