Legal Commentary

NY Commission Recommends White Males to Replace Chief Judge

By TChris

The chief judge of New York's highest court, Judith Kaye, is retiring at the end of the month. The commission charged with nominating candidates to replace her deserves the criticism it has received from Gov. David Paterson, who makes the final selection from the nominees, and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

The seven candidates offered by the Commission on Judicial Nomination include no women and only one minority.

Did the Commission really believe that white males make the best chief judges -- to the exclusion of all females?

"I've really got to wonder how this group would feel comfortable sending a list forward and not one of them represents half of the human race," Paterson said.

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Paterson thinks the state constitution clearly obliges him to choose from the list, and he believes restarting the process would be unfair to the seven chosen candidates. It seems unfair to the public to constrain the governor's choice to a list that plainly does not reflect the diversity of the state's judiciary. If Paterson has the power to insist upon a do-over, he should. (Perhaps someone with knowledge of the New York Constitution can weigh in on whether Paterson has that option.)

The best long-term solution might be the rapid addition of diversity to the Commission on Judicial Nomination:

While Paterson harshly criticized the nominating commission, observers said that group has historically done a poor job of finding candidates. "In the past, none of them have done a particularly good job," said Albany Law School Professor Vincent Bonventre.

The legislature might consider doubling the size of the commission. A sudden infusion of new blood might be just what the commission needs.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on December 06, 2008 (boomark / email).