Queens Dems to choose Supreme Court nominees
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Rep. Gregory Meeks (center), the chairperson of the Queens County Democratic Party, presides over the 2021 judicial convention, alongside Assemblymember Vivian Cook and attorneys Frank Bolz and Michael Reich, and former presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department Randall T. Eng. Eagle file photo by Jacob Kaye
By Jacob Kaye
The Queens County Democratic Party will gather in Queens Village on Tuesday to decide which judicial candidates will take the party’s line in the November race for Supreme Court justice.
There are four vacancies in Queens’ trial courts this year and the Queens Democratic Party’s judicial convention, which is made up of nearly 180 elected judicial delegates, will likely nominate four candidates to fill them on Tuesday.
Historically, judicial delegates vote in favor of the recommendations made by the chairman of the party, Rep. Gregory Meeks.
After nearly 20 legal professionals, most of whom are sitting Civil, Criminal Court judges in Queens, submitted their names for consideration, Meeks has narrowed the list down to four. The party’s leader will recommend Leigh K. Cheng, Nestor Diaz, Denise N. Johnson and Lee A. Mayersohn to receive the party’s nomination at Tuesday’s convention, multiple sources told the Eagle.
Cheng, Diaz and Johsnon are seeking their first terms on the bench. Mayersohn is seeking reelection. Supreme Court justices are elected to serve 14 year terms.
Nominees made by the Democratic party are all but shoo-ins for a spot on the bench – a vast majority of Queens voters are registered Democrats. In 2021, there were six vacancies on the bench and each of the Queens Democratic Party’s six nominations were elected. The candidate who finished seventh in the race received a little more than half as many votes as the worst performing Democratic candidate.
The Queens Republican Party will have a similar convention later in the month, however, if precedent holds, the Queens GOP will mostly co-nominate those candidates nominated by the Democratic party, with a few Republican candidates sprinkled in.
What’s a judicial convention
Unlike candidates for Civil Court, Supreme Court judicial candidates do not run in a primary election. Instead, they are nominated by a political party and run only in the November general election.
Those nominations are made during a party’s judicial convention, which is attended by judicial delegates. The number of delegates varies from one Assembly District to another – each has been between seven and 15. Most judicial delegates are either elected district leaders, community leaders or current elected officials.
Prior to the convention, the potential nominees meet with the chairperson of the party for an interview. Additionally, delegates reach out to the chairperson to share their thoughts about potential nominees.
In the days leading up to the convention, the chairperson will make their recommendations and issue them to the delegates. As of Monday afternoon, the recommended candidates had not been shared with delegates.
It’s unlikely that the convention votes for a candidate that wasn’t recommended by the chairperson. It’s equally unlikely that the chairperson makes more recommendations than there are vacancies.
The process, which is similar in all New York City counties, is often criticized for its alleged lack of transparency.
Delegates are often not told very far in advance which candidates the chairperson is planning to recommend. Similarly, they are also not told very far in advance which legal professionals are vying for the job.
For potentially the first time in the party’s history, the Queens Democratic Party, which is led by Rep. Gregory Meeks, posted online the names and resumes of all those seeking the party’s nomination around a week in advance of the convention.
In all, 17 legal professionals asked for the party’s support. Of those seeking one of the four open seats, 10 are sitting Civil Court judges, four are sitting Criminal Court judges, one is a private attorney and one is an acting Supreme Court justice.
Nick Berkowitz, a first-time judicial delegate, said that he was “grateful” party leadership had made the resumes available further in advance than they normally would.
“I do wish that there was a little bit more proactive communication about the resumes this year, but it’s very nice that they’re available in advance,” Berkowitz said. “I've taken that opportunity to study them closely, and kind of figure out what aligns with my values.”
“It’s beneficial to every delegate to make sure that they have that information ahead of time,” Berkowitz added.
Antonio Alfonso Jr., a district leader and the political director of the Queens County Democratic Party, told the Eagle that while transparency concerns were partially behind the posting of the resumes, it more so had to do with how the process played out this year.
“The timing all lined up – we had…all the resumes and people have asked for them,” Alfosno said. “Unfortunately, sometimes it's slow going, but here we are, we're doing it.”
Beyond informing the delegates, Alfonso said the effort was made to inform the public about who is seeking to serve in New York’s highest trial courts.
“If anything, it's really more transparent to folks who maybe aren't delegates, who aren't district leaders, who have no connection to the organization whatsoever,” he said. “Now they can see that and go, ‘Oh, interesting, I never heard of any of these Civil Court judges.’ Or maybe they say, ‘I remember voting for this person just a couple of years ago.’”
“In that sense, there's definitely, 100 percent more transparency,” he added. “In terms of the delegates themselves, yeah, more transparency, obviously, but not revolutionary.”
Meeks’ recommendations
Cheng is an elected Civil Court judge in Queens who is currently serving in Brooklyn Criminal Court. He was first elected in 2020.
Prior to his election to the bench, he served for 12 years as the principal law secretary to a Queens Supreme Court justice. He’s also served as a court attorney in Queens Civil Court and as a legislative counsel to former Assemblymember Nettie Mayersohn.
Cheng studied law at St. John’s University School of Law.
Like Cheng, Diaz was elected to serve as a Queens County Civil Court judge in 2020 but is currently sitting on the Criminal Court bench in Manhattan.
Diaz had a private practice as an attorney for two decades prior to his election to the bench, and worked as an assistant district attorney in the Kings County district attorney’s office before that.
He too graduated from St. John’s University School of Law.
Johnson – also a St. John’s School of Law graduate – was elected as a Civil Court judge in 2020, and is currently serving on the Queens County Criminal Court. Johnson ran unopposed and was rated “not approved” by the New York City Bar Association in 2020.
From 2006 until her election, Johnson served as the principal law secretary to Supreme Court Justice Janice A. Taylor.
In addition to having her own legal practice, Johnson worked as assistant corporation counsel in the New York City Law Department focusing on real estate litigation and tort law.
Mayersohn is seeking his second 14-year term on the Supreme Court bench. He currently presides over guardianship matters in the Civil Term. He also presides over foreclosure actions.
He previously served in the Queens County Civil Court and as the commissioner of the New York City Tax Commission from 1989 through 2004. He’s the son of former Assemblymember Nettie Mayersohn.
What’s next?
In the months leading up the November election, party nominees will be invited to meet with the Queens County Bar Association’s Judicial Committee.
The committee, which is made up of 25 bar association members, will interview, observe and conduct a background check into the nominees’ judicial practices. The nominees will then be issued a rating of either not approved, qualified or well qualified.
Then, on Nov. 8, Queens voters will head to the polls to cast ballots in the race to fill the four Supreme Court vacancies.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that there were 10 judicial delegates per Queens Assembly District. The number varies from district to district.
