Scudder, 61, a Bath Republican and associate appellate justice since 1999, succeeds Eugene F. Pigott Jr., 57, of Grand Island, who last month became Erie County's first judge since 1985 to serve on the State Court of Appeals, the state's high court in Albany.

Gov. George E. Pataki, who made the appointment, called Scudder an "outstanding jurist with a broad range of experience, legal expertise and strong leadership skills."

Scudder graduated from Stetson University in Deland, Fla., in 1966 and earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee Law School in Knoxville in 1969.

He was elected a State Supreme Court justice in the 7th Judicial District in 1996.