Rosemary Shankman Pooler

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Rosemary S. Pooler, a Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, passed away peacefully on Thursday at her Syracuse home. She was 85.
Rosemary was born and raised in Brooklyn and has lived in Syracuse since 1965. She received a B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1959, an M.A. in History from the University of Connecticut in 1961, and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1965.
Following law school, she worked in private practice from 1966 to 1972, when she became Director of the Consumer Affairs Unit of the Syracuse City Corporation Counsel. She was elected a Syracuse City Common Councilor in 1974. Beginning in 1976, she served as Chair and Executive Director of the New York State Consumer Protection Board, which included being the statutory intervenor in rate cases pending before the Public Service Commission. In 1978 she received a graduate certificate in Regulatory Economics from the State University of Albany. Judge Pooler was appointed to a ‘consumer’ seat as a Commissioner of the New York State Public Service Commission. She also served as a visiting professor of law at Syracuse University College of Law and as the Vice President of Legal Affairs for Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc.
In 1991, Judge Pooler became the first woman elected to the New York State Supreme Court for the Fifth Judicial District. Four years later, she was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, becoming the first woman to serve on that bench. President Clinton elevated Judge Pooler to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where she assumed duty on June 19, 1998.
Judge Pooler was honored with the Central New York Women’s Bar Association Karen DeCrow Award in 2023; the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York Doris S. Hoffman Medal in 2012; the Onondaga County Bar Association William C. Ruger Award in 2009 and the National Council of Jewish Women’s Hannah G. Solomon Award in 1998. She was a member of the Onondaga County and New York State Bar Associations, the Women’s Bar Associations of the State of New York and Central New York, and an honorary member of the Board of Advisors for the Syracuse University College of Law.
Judge Pooler spent her career in public service, fighting for those without power and privilege and helping to bring ‘equal justice for all’ closer to reality. She and a handful of other women broke barriers in ways that were previously considered impossible. She also formed lasting bonds with generations of law clerks who she mentored well beyond their working relationships. She achieved all of this while living a full life as a wonderful, loving, warm, and funny wife, mom, grandmother, and loyal friend to all who were lucky enough to know her.
Judge Pooler was predeceased by her husband of 58 years, Bill Pooler, who passed away in 2017. She is survived by her children Michael, and Penelope (Mark) Eisenbies; and grandchildren, Broden and Asher. She is also survived by her loving partner, Jerry Blackman.
Calling hours will be held on Monday, Aug. 14th, 12:30 - 2 PM at Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas (CBS-CS), 18 Patsy Lane, Jamesville, NY, with the service following at 2 PM. Burial will be beside her late husband Bill in the Beth Sholom section of Oakwood Cemetery. Shivah will be held at CBS-CS on Monday, Aug 14th and Tuesday, Aug. 15, 7-9 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Brennan Center for Justice (https://www.brennancenter.org/) in Rosemary’s memory. www.sisskindfuneralservice.com