‘Unorthodox approaches’: Chief judge lays out vision to reform courts during State of the Judiciary address

Chief Judge Rowan Wilson delivered his first-ever State of the Judiciary address on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. Photo by David Handschuh  

By Jacob Kaye

Chief Judge Rowan Wilson doesn’t just want to reimagine how New York’s courts operate, he wants to reimagine why they operate.

For the first time since taking office as the top judge in the state last spring, Wilson delivered his State of the Judiciary speech from the Court of Appeals’ courtroom in Albany on Tuesday.

His speech, which was preceded by remarks from Governor Kathy Hochul, were unorthodox, and centered around what he claims is an effort to dramatically reform the judiciary, the courts and the justice system in the Empire State.

Rather than personally delivering remarks hitting on the accomplishments of the court system in the past year, Wilson mostly ceded the microphone to court users whose lives have been dramatically altered – in a good way – by their interactions with court staff and judges.

The chief judge said the change in presentation was made to show the speech’s attendees the new direction he and his leadership team wanted to take the court system in.

That new direction is focused on changing the idea of what a judge is meant to do inside a courtroom.

“We should cease thinking about courts as places where a judge merely decides which party is right and which is wrong,” Wilson said. “Instead, we should think of the courts as similar to our other branches of government – institutions that attempt to make decisions that will improve the lives of those we serve.”

“Let's think of our courts as problem solvers, not solely as adjudicators of which party is right,” he added.

The speech was Wilson’s first since being tapped to serve as chief judge by Hochul in April of last year. His nomination came after Hochul’s previous nominee, Hector LaSalle, was rejected by the State Senate in an episode that raised questions over the judiciary’s independence from both the executive branch and the legislature.

But Wilson’s reign over the court system has been almost exclusively celebrated by both lawmakers and the governor, both of whom the chief judge has made a public effort to work closely with.

“We're all part of the same government with the same overriding objective, and we can work together towards that goal, without the slightest compromise of our judicial independence, or intrusion into each other's spheres of authority,” Wilson said.

The core of the speech focused Wilson’s vision for the court system, which largely revolves around the use and expansion of specialty courts, including treatment courts, alternative to incarceration courts, community courts and justice centers.

The courts, Wilson said, inherently force the justice system to expand its definition of justice.

“What could we gain from thinking about all of our courts as problem solving courts?” Wilson said. “Rather than determining what law was broken, who broke it and what the punishment should be, could we foster greater trust in the court system, greater accountability in the community, greater public safety and a better outcome for both the troubled individual and the broader community if, in appropriate cases, we asked who has been affected? What are the needs and responsibilities of all affected persons? And how the harm could best be repaired and future harm avoided?”

Throughout Tuesday’s speech, New Yorkers who have passed through various speciality courts shared their experiences, touting the positive impact the courts have had on their lives – an impact that otherwise could have been detrimental, they said.

“The results of those unorthodox approaches have been spectacularly impressive,” Wilson said. “It's time to expand that approach in which courts, parties and other participants were to achieve results superior to those that can be obtained merely by deciding who is right or applying a stock response to problems that superficially seem identical.”

“When one takes enough time to care and understand the human beings enmeshed in those problems, we see that each case is different and calls for a highly tailored, careful and compassionate response,” he added. “If that seems heretical, so be it.”

Those who spoke on Tuesday included a Queens resident who participated in a civics program created by the court system and later became an attorney; a mother nearly a decade into addiction recovery after going through a drug treatment court; a Marine who struggled with mental illness before appearing in veteran’s court; a former foster child whose experience in family court led her toward her career in the Unified Court System; and a court officer whose kind words to two children appearing before a judge set an example for others working in the courtroom.

All the stories shared on Tuesday had “happy endings,” Wilson said. But that’s not always the case for those appearing before judges in New York, the chief judge added, noting that the stories shared during the speech were “not what is typical, but what is possible.”

“People often come to court to litigate the worst, most challenging moments of their lives,” Wilson said. “Many parties in our courts are scared and under enormous mental, physical and financial strain. Many will have their lives altered by what our courts decide – whether they keep their liberty, job or custody of their children.””

“Our objective is to move as many of the unhappy stories as possible over to the happy side,” he added.

Straddled in the middle of that divide was Keisha Nankoosingh, a mother of three who has been working as a certified recovery peer advocate in the court system for around a decade after having gone through drug treatment court herself.

Nankoosingh and her partner, the father of her children, together used drugs and alcohol for around 10 years before both ended up with criminal charges being brought against them. Both went through drug treatment court.

“Choosing treatment court was definitely the best decision of my life,” Nankoosingh said on Tuesday.

Nankoosingh went through a 12-step program and began mending pieces of her life that had fallen apart in the throes of her addiction. After graduating from drug treatment court, Nankoosingh continued to stay involved, working with people in similar situations to her own and joining communities of recovering addicts. She again received custody of her children and grew close again with her family.

Her partner was not as fortunate.

He didn’t graduate from the program and was instead sentenced to prison. After being released, he became ill and eventually began using drugs again. He died in 2020.

“These are the stakes,” Nankoosingh said. “Life or death.”

Later during the speech, Wilson acknowledged that the court system will not be able to help all who appear before it. However, he said that he believes it can help more people than it currently does.

“I'm not foolish enough to think that even the best courts and the best services can solve every mental health or substance abuse problem, or prevent all crime, or find homes for everyone,” the chief judge said. “But I believe we can do better, much better, if those who work for and with the state of New York work collaboratively towards that objective.”