Senate turns on gov’s chief judge pick
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Governor Kathy Hochul is facing major pushback over her pick for chief judge, Hector LaSalle. On Thursday, the number of Senators saying they’d vote against his confirmation rose to 12. File photo by Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
By Jacob Kaye
The governor’s pick for chief judge is in trouble.
A growing number of State Senators – who will vote to confirm the pick next month – have outright stated that they will vote against Hector LaSalle, the current presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department, who was nominated last week to serve as the state’s next chief judge of the Court of Appeals, the most powerful judicial position in New York.
With a dozen Democratic senators now planning to vote against LaSalle’s confirmation, his ascension to the seat has been cast in serious doubt. It has become increasingly likely that Governor Kathy Hochul’s most important judicial nomination to date could be rejected – or not be brought up for a vote at all.
Even if State Senate Democratic leadership brings his nomination up for a vote – and there’s a possibility they don’t – LaSalle’s confirmation hearing is likely going to be the most contentious judicial nomination hearing in recent history.
Much to the chagrin of a number of progressive advocates and lawmakers who had actively campaigned against his nomination, Hochul nominated LaSalle last week. In their opposition, advocates cited several of LaSalle’s past judicial decisions that they say expressed anti-abortion and anti-labor positions.
Beginning from the time former-Chief Judge Janet DiFiore announced her resignation, advocates and lawmakers began urging Hochul to select a chief judge that would move the court further to the left – DiFiore, who resigned in August, had led a more conservative-minded bloc of judges in the high court’s majority.
While half a dozen Senators stated that they’d vote “no” on LaSalle the day that he was nominated, several more have since taken the same position. On Thursday, the group of lawmakers were joined by Queens State Senator and Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, the most powerful elected official to come out against LaSalle thus far.
“While I respect the governor’s prerogative to nominate a chief judge of her choosing, the most important criteria must be to ensure a change from the harmful tenure of Janet DiFiore and her three followers still serving on the Court of Appeals,” Gianaris said, in reference to Acting Chief Judge Anthony Cannataro, and Judges Michael Garcia and Madeline Singas, who Gianaris enthusiastically supported during her confirmation in 2021.
“Unfortunately, there appears to be a great possibility that Justice LaSalle would represent a continuation of the unacceptable status quo that has sullied the reputation of our state’s highest court and ruled inconsistently with the values held dear by New Yorkers,” Gianaris added. “Accordingly, I would be compelled to vote ‘no’ should this nomination be brought to a vote.”
Gianaris’ announcement brought the total number of Democratic senators who have publicly stated they’ll vote against LaSalle’s nomination to 11, putting his confirmation in serious jeopardy. Matters were only made worse for Hochul’s pick when Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos said she’d vote “no” on LaSalle on Thursday afternoon.
“After reviewing Justice LaSalle’s record and speaking with unions and my constituents, I have concluded that I will vote ‘no’ if this nomination is brought to a vote,” Ramos said in a statement.
“This is an incredibly important role and we need the right person for the job. Latinos deserve representation at the highest levels of the legal system, but we also need courts that respect workers and the right to organize,” she added. “We can’t compromise our values.”
In order to be confirmed, LaSalle needs 32 of the Senate’s 63 lawmakers to vote in his favor. Assuming every Senate Republican votes against LaSalle, and each Senator who has said they’ll vote “no” follows through, LaSalle will not be confirmed.
But there is a caveat to the threat – Hochul’s last nomination to the court, Shirley Troutman, was confirmed by the Senate without a single “no” vote from Republicans.
However, Senate Democratic leadership doesn’t typically bring items up for a vote without having the Democratic votes to pass the item without Republican support. Should they refuse to bring his nomination up for a vote, Hochul could be forced to select a new candidate to serve as the face of the state’s court system.
State Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Brad Hoylman told The Capitol Pressroom on Thursday that its unlikely his committee would take up LaSalle’s confirmation if it seems likely to be rejected by the full Senate. He added that he wouldn’t feel comfortable bringing it up for a vote if LaSalle’s confirmation required Republican votes.
“We have a majority – and in fact, a super majority – for a reason, which is to make certain that the values that we share, as Democrats, are reflected in our actions for the people of New York and I don’t think a vote that required senate Republicans would be indicative of a chamber that put its values forward,” Hoylman told The Capitol Pressroom.
“It’s a very steep climb, based on the number of senators who have expressed public opposition and that doesn’t even count senators who have privately suggested that they would vote no,” he added. “So this is a very narrow pathway for this nominee – if there’s one, even available, at all.”
Hochul defended her pick on Thursday in a statement to the Eagle and gave no indication that she would withdraw her nomination.
“Judge LaSalle is a highly qualified, experienced, and respected jurist, and his historic nomination deserves a full hearing and confirmation process,” Hochul said. “I expect that the Senate will fulfill their constitutional duties and engage in a robust, fair process. I know that Judge LaSalle is the best candidate for the job, and I believe that when Senators hear from him directly, they will agree."
Should Hochul decide to make a change, next in line would likely be Judge Edwina Richardson-Mendelson, who LaSalle plans to make the state’s chief administrative judge, should he be confirmed, and who was also presented to Hochul by the Commission on Judicial Nomination as a potential chief judge nominee.
Richardson-Mendelson currently serves as the leader of the Equal Justice in the Courts Initiative, the deputy chief administrative judge for Justice Initiatives and as a Court of Claims judge. She spent years working as a legal professional in Queens – first as an attorney-referee in Queens County Family Court and later as the supervising judge in that same court.
But should LaSalle’s nomination be brought up for a vote and rejected, the nomination process would begin anew. The commission would collect applications from legal professionals, make seven recommendations to Hochul, who would pick a nominee and send them to the Senate for confirmation.
On Thursday, the Eagle reached out to the five remaining Queens senators – Joe Addabbo, Toby Ann Stavisky, James Sanders, Leroy Comrie and John Liu – who have yet to publicly state their position on LaSalle.
None of the Senators responded to the Eagle’s inquiries before press time.
Lawmakers have not been the only ones to publicly decry LaSalle’s nomination.
Unions, including 32BJ SEIU, CWA District 1, UAW Region 9A, New York City District Council of Carpenters and ALAA 2325, have voiced opposition to the pick. Dozens of progressive and social services organizations, including Make the Road New York, Right to Counsel NYC Coalition and the Queens County Young Democrats, have also come out against LaSalle’s nomination.
But Hochul’s nomination has not been without support.
A group of nearly two dozen former appellate judges wrote to lawmakers this week urging they vote “yes” on his nomination, the Daily News reported.
“While only speaking for ourselves, we believe that having a chief judge with real judicial and legal experience is long overdue,” the 22 former appellate judges wrote, according to the Daily News. “The people of New York who look to our courts as houses of law and justice are well-served by this nomination.”
LaSalle has also received support from a number of Hispanic legal organizations in the state, including the Latino Lawyers Association of Queens.
