ALBANY — Within a few months of taking office, Governor-elect Spitzer will have a chance to help shape the state’s highest court, a tribunal that has decided key spending and social issues for New Yorkers but that critics say has grown timid in recent years.

Two terms will come up for review and court experts expect Mr. Spitzer, a Democrat, to make his choices based on legal experience, not political affiliation, to make the panel stronger. Albany Law School professor Vincent Bonventre said the seven-member court lost some of its stature after Republican Governor Pataki stacked it with judges who “seemed to be governed by ideology and politics.”

On December 31, Court of Appeals Judge Albert Rosenblatt, a former Dutchess County district attorney appointed by Mr. Pataki in 1998, will step down at the mandatory retirement age of 70. And in March, Chief Judge Judith Kaye’s 14-year term expires. Ms. Kaye, the first woman on the court who was an associate judge for 10 years, could serve until the end of 2008, if Mr. Spitzer reappoints her. Judge Kaye, appointed by Governor Cuomo, has told Mr. Spitzer she wants to be reappointed, Court of Appeals spokesman Gary Spencer said.

The court has decided some of the biggest issues in Albany in recent years. It allowed Indian casinos to flourish, slapped the state with a multi-billion dollar bill to improve New York City schools and asserted the governor’s power over the Legislature in budgeting.

Mr. Bonventre, who has studied the court for years, praised Judge Kaye and said she would likely be reappointed. “If you look at some of the recent decisions in major cases, they aren’t particularly persuasive,” he said, referring to rulings forcing religious social service groups to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees and declaring same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

For Justice Rosenblatt’s seat, the Commission on Judicial Nomination will submit a list of candidates to Mr. Spitzer on December 1. He has from January 1 to January 15 to make his choice, who then must be confirmed by the state Senate. The process will be repeated for Justice Kaye’s post.

Mr. Spitzer’s office declined to comment on possible picks but the governor-elect has made his views on the law and constitution clear.

In May, he strongly disagreed with the strict “constructionist” reading of the Constitution that adheres to the document’s original language and makes no allowances for societal changes.

Mr. Spitzer said he would favor someone whose constitutional analysis agrees with his own, an “evolving constitution” philosophy that has guided Supreme Court decisions protecting abortion rights and ending segregation. State Senator Smith, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he expects Mr. Spitzer to appoint more minorities. “I’m confident there will be diversity in the selection process,” Mr. Smith said. Mr. Spitzer “has given me his word.”