Senate rejects gov’s chief judge pick

Chief judge nominee Hector LaSalle was rejected by the State Senate in a full floor vote on Wednesday, marking the first time the legislature has rejected a chief judge nomination in the history of New York. AP file photo by Hans Pennink

By Jacob Kaye

The State Senate rejected Governor Kathy Hochul’s nominee for chief judge of the Court of Appeals in a surprise vote on Wednesday, putting an end to a constitutional standoff between the Democratic governor and Democratic majority in the legislature and marking the first time in New York State history a chief judge nominee has been rejected.

The 39 to 20 vote from the full State Senate to reject Hector LaSalle, who was nominated by Hochul in late December, comes nearly a month after the Senate’s Judiciary Committee first heard testimony from the current presiding justice in the Appellate Division, Second Department. The committee rejected LaSalle in a 10 to 9 vote and ended his nomination in committee, sparking a debate and, eventually, a lawsuit, over the Senate’s role in the judicial nomination process.

Though State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins suggested yesterday that a vote on LaSalle’s nomination may be imminent, there had been little indication in the days and weeks leading up to Wednesday’s session that the full Senate would vote on the nominee.

On Wednesday, the Judiciary Committee was quickly called to order before re-voting on LaSalle’s nomination – the committee unanimously voted to send the nomination to the floor without a recommendation. Then, after an hour of remarks from a number of lawmakers, the Senate quickly and decisively voted to end the nomination of LaSalle, who would have become the first Latino to serve as the top judicial official in the state.

Hochul, who has been steadfast in her support of LaSalle, said on Wednesday that she believed the full Senate vote on her nominee brought an end to the stand off.

"As I have said from the very beginning, the Constitution requires a full Senate vote on a Governor's nomination for Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals,” the governor said in a statement. “While long overdue, the Senate has finally acquiesced to a vote on the floor on the nomination of Justice Hector LaSalle.”

The governor added that she believed the protracted battle over LaSalle was not based on “the merits of Justice LaSalle, who is an overwhelmingly qualified and talented jurist.”

With LaSalle now rejected – for either the second, or first time, depending on who is asked – the process to nominate a new chief judge candidate begins again.

"Now that the full Senate has taken a vote, I will work toward making a new nomination,” Hochul said. “I remain committed to selecting a qualified candidate to lead the court and deliver justice. That is what New Yorkers deserve."

Of the 39 lawmakers who voted against LaSalle, 38 were Democrats. Queens State Senators Michael Gianairs, Kristen Gonzalez, John Liu, Jessica Ramos, Toby Ann Stavisky, Joseph Addabbo and Leroy Comrie voted against LaSalle’s nomination.

Though State Senator James Sanders did not vote to reject LaSalle, it’s unclear if he voted in support of the chief judge nominee or was not present. Sanders’ office did not respond to request for comment.

The vote came a little less than a week after Republican State Senator Anthony Palumbo, who serves as the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, filed a lawsuit against Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the State Senate and the 10 members of the committee who originally voted to reject LaSalle following the Jan. 18 hearing.

Making an argument similar to one made by Governor Kathy Hochul in the days following LaSalle’s rejection, the lawsuit, which is ongoing, alleges that the Senate violated the state’s constitution by not allowing the chief judge nominee to be voted on by the full Senate.

Throughout the afternoon on Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers denied that their push for the vote on LaSalle’s nomination to the full Senate was an admission that they had violated the constitution or otherwise followed improper procedure.

Instead, they said the drawn out nomination process and the lawsuit were serving as “distractions” getting in the way of negotiating the state’s budget and passing legislation.

“I'm not going to deny that a lawsuit is a distraction,” Judiciary Committee Chair Brad Hoylman-Sigal said during the committee’s abbreviated hearing on Wednesday prior to the floor vote. “We do not have the time, or energy, or personnel, or attention to address…our work on this important budget.

“At the same time, though, we affirm our position that the committee acted appropriately and spoke on behalf of the Senate,” he added.

Stewart-Cousins, who told reporters on Tuesday night that she was considering bringing a vote on LaSalle, made similar remarks on Wednesday.

“‘Today, we again rose to our leadership responsibilities and ended the ongoing distraction of the Justice Hector LaSalle nomination,” the top Senate Democrat said. “We have a state to run. This court case would’ve dragged on for months and stymied our judicial system. It was time to put this matter to rest.”

During his remarks on the floor, Palumbo, who, as a member of the Judiciary Committee, voted to send LaSalle to the floor of the Senate without recommendation in January, said that despite the vote, he believed the lawsuit should continue. The parties are currently scheduled to appear in a Suffolk County court on Friday.

“We have an entire body making a decision based upon a little gamesmanship, hoping to render the lawsuit moot,” the Republican lawmaker said. “There is a rule regarding mootness and I'm going to suggest to folks that when actions are taken in contravention to the law or intended to evade a justiciable or an actual decision by a court – it does not render it moot.”

“I look forward to Friday,” he added.

Gianaris, who was among the legislative leaders of the opposition to LaSalle, defended the role of the Senate in the judicial nomination process while speaking from the floor on Wednesday.

“The failure of some in our state to respect the proper role and independence of this legislature has led to a crisis affecting all branches of government,” the Queens lawmaker said. “It now falls to our Senate Majority to again be the adult in the room and move our state past this deadlock that would have otherwise dragged on for even more months while our top court is without a properly appointed Chief Judge and while we are in the midst of negotiating a state budget that must continue our economic recovery.”

“It is the Senate’s Constitutional right to determine how it operates and to reject nominees that do not have the support of a Senate whose confirmation role is critical to the balance of powers,” he added.

Prior to Wednesday’s floor vote, a number of Republican senators explained their reason for supporting LaSalle, citing his judicial experience and historic nomination.

“Given his experience, his history, and frankly, the unique perspective that he brings

to this court as a person who was raised in a Latino family and Latino community, in a working family community, whose parents were members of unions – the perspective he brings to the Court of Appeals that doesn't exist on the Court of Appeals today cannot be substituted,” said Republican State Senator Jack Martins. “I believe he deserves our vote.”

Throughout the nomination saga, a broad coalition of progressive lawmakers, moderate Democrats, criminal justice organizations, reproductive rights organizations and unions, publicly opposed LaSalle, citing several decisions he had either issued himself or signed onto in the past.

A number of lawmakers also expressed concern that LaSalle would continue in the tradition of former Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and lead a four-member conservative block on the seven-judge Court of Appeals.

“Reading those cases, talking with the judge for an extensive period of time, you formulate an opinion,” said State Senator Neil Breslin. “And my opinion was not that he’s a bad guy or he's a bad judge – it just said we can do better.”

His rejection was celebrated by a number of organizations who had rallied against LaSalle in the month following his nomination.

“We commend the Senate for rejecting the nomination of Justice Hector LaSalle for Chief Judge,” said Peter Martin, the director of judicial accountability at the Center for Community Alternatives. “When Justice Hector LaSalle was announced as the nominee in December, his record made clear to hundreds of labor unions, reproductive rights organizations, civil rights groups, community-based organizations, State Senators, and everyday New Yorkers that he was the wrong choice for our state.”

“We now look forward to a new vacancy and again call on the Commission on Judicial Nomination, Governor Hochul, and the Senate to advance and confirm a nominee who will stand up for the rights of marginalized New Yorkers and lead the court New York deserves,” he added.

But groups in support of the chief judge nominee said that they were dismayed not only by the vote but by the entire process that played out following LaSalle’s nomination.

“Today is a sad day for fairness and decency,” Latinos for LaSalle, a group comprised of Latino attorneys and former elected officials, said in a statement Wednesday.

“While there may have been an engineered Senate floor vote on Justice LaSalle’s nomination to lead the Court of Appeals, it had nothing to do with the nominee or his qualifications,” they added. “It was a preordained vote that makes a mockery of the merit-based system. This process has not only sullied Judge LaSalle’s good name, but it has also diminished the Senate confirmation process moving forward.”

The process to fill the most powerful judicial position in the state now begins anew.

The Court of Appeals, which is currently operating with six judges, will likely declare a vacancy on their bench. Then, the Commission on Judicial Nominations will collect resumes from legal professionals aspiring to serve as chief judge.

After considering the applications, the commission will recommend seven candidates to the governor to choose from. Hochul will then select one of those candidates and send them to the Senate for confirmation – or rejection.