Bronx lawmaker tapped to lead Senate’s Judiciary Committee

Bronx State Senator Luis Sepúlveda was named as the chair of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee.  AP file photo by Mary Altaffer

By Jacob Kaye

A progressive Bronx lawmaker will lead the State Senate’s powerful Judiciary Committee, Senate leadership announced this week.

State Senator Luis Sepúlveda was tapped by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to chair the Judiciary Committee, succeeding former Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who was elected Manhattan borough president and assumed office at the start of January.

Sepúlveda, a longtime lawmaker and former attorney, will now oversee legislation related to the courts, civil and criminal procedure, judiciary issues and judicial nominations. He is the first Latino lawmaker to hold the role.

Stewart-Cousins called her pick a “steady hand” with “deep legal understanding, and a strong commitment to transparency that will be critical as the committee continues its work this legislative session.”

“I am confident that under his leadership, the Judiciary Committee will continue to set a high standard for fairness and transparency,” the Senate majority leader added. “I congratulate Sen. Sepúlveda on this well-deserved appointment and look forward to working with him as he leads the committee.”

In a statement, Sepúlveda said he was “immensely proud to be the first Latino appointed to chair this committee and deeply grateful to Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins for entrusting me with this responsibility.”

The Bronx elected official, who previously served in the State Assembly and has pushed for a number of criminal justice reforms, said that he would lead the committee in the hopes of reforming the state’s courts.

“Throughout my career as both a practicing attorney and legislator, I have worked tirelessly to make the courts accessible and equitable for everyone,” he added. “In this new capacity, I will continue carrying that mission forward.”

Sepúlveda first made his way to Albany in 2013, when he was elected to the Assembly.

In 2018, he was elected to the State Senate, where he chaired the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee.

Prior to serving in elected office, Sepúlveda was a practicing attorney. He got his law degree from Hofstra Law School, worked at a firm in Long Island for some years before opening a private practice in the Bronx.

Sepúlveda’s status as the first Latino lawmaker to hold the chairperson position in the Judiciary Committee is significant.

The lawmaker was a vocal advocate for Governor Kathy Hochul’s one-time chief judge pick, Hector LaSalle, in 2022.

Though Hoylman-Sigal and a majority of the Judiciary Committee were opposed to LaSalle’s nomination – and would eventually go on to reject it – Sepúlveda was in support.

Had LaSalle been confirmed, he would have been the first Latino judge to hold the top judicial position in the state. Instead, he now holds the distinction of being the only chief judge nominee to be rejected by the legislature.

Sepúlveda decried LaSalle’s treatment during a five-hour hearing in 2022 ahead of his ultimate rejection.

“Judge LaSalle faced the most intense scrutiny during a nearly five hour hearing and demonstrated that he was more than qualified to assume the position,” Sepúlveda said in a statement at the time. “He demonstrated his intellectual and professional capacity. Apparently, when it comes to Latinos, we are never good enough.”

In January 2023, as Hochul’s pick appeared to be headed toward a rejection, Sepúlveda rallied alongside the governor and a number of other Latino leaders to urge support for LaSalle.

“I don’t care if this fight costs me my political career,” he said at the rally. “This is the hill I’m going to die on.”

Sepúlveda was a sponsor or co-sponsor on a number of criminal justice reform bills that have since been passed into law.

Among them was the Raise the Age law, which the governor is reportedly hoping to scale back during budget negotiations this year.

Any attempt to reform the law through the budget could potentially have to pass through Sepúlveda’s Judiciary Committee.