Order-Self-Raise Judge Known for Pooper-Scooper Law

Lehner: Known For 'Pooper-Scooper Law'
By Special to the Sun - June 12, 2008

A state Supreme Court Judge, Edward Lehner, who will retire in 2009 due to age limits, is making headlines this week for ordering Albany to raise state judges' wages. But until now, he has been best-known for a law he co-wrote as a young state assemblyman 30 years ago, which changed New York City's streets. The law is popularly known as the "pooper-scooper law," requiring citizens to clean up after their dogs. Shortly after that success, he went on the bench in 1980 as a civil court judge and was elevated to the state Supreme Court in 1987.

Judge Lehner's more recent cases include Donald Trump's failed suit for control of the Empire State Building in 1999. The judge also allowed construction of a New York University dorm in 2006 against the wishes of nearby residents. A year later, he issued an important ruling that reduced the number of co-op shareholders who were exempted from typical rules such as sublet fees. And in January, he sided with pedicab owners in a dispute with the city over who should be allowed to apply for pedicab licenses. According to the legal Web publication Judicial Reports, Judge Lehner's decisions have been appealed over 300 times in the last seven years, making him one of New York's most appealed judges. He was reversed only a third of the time, however, a relatively low rate.