Robert Phillips of the District Attorney's appeals bureau had argued that the state had a compelling interest to protect the unborn.

Mr. Uviller was chief of the appeals bureau for seven years and argued nine cases before the United States Supreme Court.

After working for his father as a dollar-a-year adviser, Mr. Cuomo spent 14 months in the appeals bureau of the Manhattan district attorney's office.

"Never, and I've been here since 1972," said Julia Rivera, a secretary in the appeals bureau.

Three years later, he took charge of Mr. Hogan's appeals bureau.

From the fall of 1996 until two years ago he worked as an assistant district attorney in the appeals bureau of the Manhattan district attorney's office.

Those gathered outside the party building, which is devoted to investigating official corruption, said they knew it was not supposed to be a general appeals bureau.

He was with the Manhattan District Attorney's office from 1975 to 1980, first as chief of the appeals bureau and then as chief assistant district attorney.

That year he became an assistant district attorney for New York County, and worked his way up to chief of the appeals bureau.

Last year the state petitions and appeals bureau received 160,000 individual visits and 1,200 visits by large groups, each up by about a third from 2000.