Why is a Delaware political group supporting Hector LaSalle?
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Advertisements in support of chief judge nominee Hector LaSalle paid for by a Delaware-based political organizing group ran in the online version of the New York Daily News this week. Screenshot via New York Daily News
By Jacob Kaye
A murky Delaware-based political organizing group has entered into the fight over Governor Kathy Hochul’s controversial nomination for chief judge of the Court of Appeals.
This week, Citizens for Judicial Fairness, a group that formed in 2016 to advocate for reforms to one of Delaware's highest courts, took out a number of advertisements in the New York Daily News urging New Yorkers to reach out to their State Senators and voice their support of Hector LaSalle, who was nominated for the top judicial position in the state by Hochul at the end of December. LaSalle, who currently serves as the presiding justice in the Appellate Division, Second Department, is facing the prospect of becoming the first-ever chief judge nominee to be rejected by the Senate.
“Justice Hector D. LaSalle is qualified, experienced and ready to represent real New Yorkers like us,” the advertisement reads. “He deserves a fair hearing in the State Senate. Call your State Senator today to support Hector LaSalle for NY’s Chief Judge.”
But exactly who “us” is, is unclear.
The group’s website does not list any of its members, an address or specify what kind of an organization they are. A search of Citizens for Judicial Fairness did not yield any results on the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government’s website, which lists lobbyists registered with the state.
Citizens for Judicial Fairness’ advocacy has largely centered around reforming the all-white Delaware Court of Chancery, which deals with internal legal disputes involving the thousands of businesses and corporations registered in the tax-friendly state.
“Since its founding, Citizens for Judicial Fairness has utilized grassroots pressure, strategic partnerships, and political advocacy to campaign for common-sense solutions to increase transparency and equity in Delaware’s court system,” the group’s website reads.
Citizens for Judicial Fairness did not respond to request for comment.
Previous press clippings written about the organization list Chris Coffey, the CEO of powerful New York City lobbying firm Tusk Strategies, as Citizens for Judicial Fairness’ campaign manager. It’s unclear if Tusk Strategies, which helped run Andrew Yang’s campaign for New York City mayor, is involved in Citizens for Judicial Fairness or if Coffey’s involvement is personal.
Coffey did not respond to requests for comment.
The fight over LaSalle
Shortly after Hochul nominated LaSalle to serve as the top judge in the state’s court system, a number of Senators publicly announced that they’d vote against his confirmation.
The first lawmaker to do so was Queens Senator Kristen Gonzalez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who took office at the start of January after winning her 2022 Democratic primary against former City Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley, whose campaign received support from Tusk Strategies.
In the week following Gonzalez’s announcement, a dozen Senators, a majority of whom are among the most progressive members of the legislative body, had joined Gonzalez in opposition to LaSalle, who they say has made and signed onto a number of decisions that suggest anti-abortion and anti-labor positions. With 14 Senators now opposed to LaSalle, it has become mathematically impossible to confirm him without Republican support, something Democratic Senate leadership wants to avoid.
Gonzalez said that Citizens for Judicial Fairness’ chief judge nomination lobbying effort is the “perfect example of why LaSalle is not good to serve on the Court of Appeals.”
“We've had several nominees with incredible qualifications that would inspire a lot of the public's trust in them sitting on the Court of Appeals, but with LaSalle, not only through his track record of ruling against vulnerable communities…[but] seeing who is in his coalition and who is behind him, including [Citizens for Judicial Fairness and Coffey], is another example of big real estate interests trying to influence our political sphere and buy out our courts,” Gonzalez told the Eagle.
“It's another form of corporate interests influencing our political landscape,” she added.
Governor Kathy Hochul and chief judge nominee Hector LaSalle. Photo via Governor Hochul’s office
Despite the pushback against her pick, Hochul has stood firm in her support of LaSalle and has called on the Senate to move forward with both a Judiciary Committee hearing and full body confirmation hearing on her pick for chief judge. A committee hearing is expected to be held in the coming days.
“I’m willing to do everything I need to do to get it through the committee,” Hochul told reporters on Thursday, according to the Times Union.
A pro-business position
Among LaSalle’s cases that lawmakers, unions and advocates are concerned about is a 2015 defamation lawsuit filed by Cablevision against a communications workers union and several individual union members. LaSalle signed onto an appeals decision that dismissed the case against the union but allowed it to proceed against the individual members.
Earlier this week, Jimmy Mahoney, the president of the New York State Iron Workers District Council, slammed Hochul for nominating LaSalle and called the pick an attack on organized labor.
“She promised us that we were going to have a seat at the table – she put us on the menu,” Mahoney said. “You should not, in your first dramatic act, take the legs out of organized labor.”
Though it’s unclear why Citizens for Judicial Fairness has gotten involved in the chief judge fight, the group does have ties to pro-business advocacy.
The group originally went by the name Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, and was created by the founder of New York-based translation company TransPerfect after the Chancery Court forced a sale of the company.
“Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 5,000 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives and others,” a 2022 press release for the group that lists Coffey as its campaign manager reads.
“They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the unprecedented, forced sale of TransPerfect,” the release continues. “While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to fight for more transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court.”
Hank Sheinkopf, a political strategist, told the Eagle that it’s not unusual for business interests to get involved in judicial races and appointments.
“Corporations want to influence outcomes in the courts, and they're prepared to run races to do it,” Sheinkopf said. “It's not new, it's just new to New York.”
Citizens for Judicial Fairness’ New York campaign does not appear to be the first time the group has voiced opinions on judicial issues in other states.
A group with the same name ran advertisements in support of Democratic judges in Illinois up for election in November 2022. In no other state was more money spent on judicial races in last year’s election cycle, when $18.9 million was poured into judicial campaigns.
Diversity on the bench
LaSalle is the first Latino to be nominated for the chief judge position, and would become the first Latino and person of color to lead the state’s highest court if confirmed. A number of LaSalle’s backers have pointed to the historic nature of his nomination in statements of their support.
“There's…[an] opportunity that lies before us to do something that has never occurred in the history of the great State of New York, and that is to put a distinguished individual on the highest court in our land – an individual who has a stellar record, a record of accomplishment, a record of bringing people together, a record that supports fairness and justice - core values that are so important to me as a leader,” Hochul said last week.
In some of their advertisements, Citizens for Judicial Fairness pointed to the effort to diversify the historically racially homogenous bench.
“Latinos make up just 10% of NY judges,” some of the advertisements read.
Citizens for Judicial Fairness counts Reverend Al Sharpton as one of its supporters. The famed civil rights leader is featured prominently on the group’s website.
The organization switched over to its current name last year, citing their desire to diversify Delaware's all-white Chancery Court.
“This is a major milestone for our movement in Delaware and nationwide as we focus our efforts on fighting for fairness, equity, and transparency in our judiciary and legal industry,” Coffey said in a statement in May, Delaware Business Now reported. “Since our founding nearly six years ago, we’ve been constantly amazed by the enthusiastic grassroots response from thousands of citizens in Delaware and beyond who are sick and tired of courts that don’t look like them or live like them making far-reaching decisions that affect their livelihoods.”
