Commission searches for the Court of Appeals’ next judge
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The New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination invites candidates to apply for a seat on the Court of Appeals. Photo by UpstateNYer via Wikimedia Commons
By Noah Powelson
So you want to be a judge on New York’s highest court? Just apply.
The New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination is currently receiving and reviewing applications for anyone seeking a seat on New York’s Court of Appeals, as Senior Associate Judge Jenny Rivera approaches the end of her term on the top court.
Rivera’s 14-year term is set to end in Feb. 10, 2027, and while she has reportedly indicated she plans to reapply, her application will be reviewed by a recently revamped commission that will be evaluating a number of other candidates, as well.
The deadline to apply is Aug. 10.
With Rivera potentially not returning the bench, the move could reshape the dynamics of the state’s highest court
Of the seven judges on the Court of Appeals, Rivera is the only one with a career in public service and human rights advocacy. Before becoming a judge, Rivera worked for the Legal Aid Society's Homeless Family Rights Project, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, and was appointed special deputy attorney general for Civil Rights for the New York State Attorney General.
Martin LaFalce, an assistant professor of Clinical Legal Education at St. John’s University and the director of the university’s Defense and Advocacy Clinic, said her experience is directly observable in Rivera’s opinions and dissents.
“She has been a powerful dissenter,” LaFalce said. “Whether it’s been in the context of discrimination in jury selection, whether it's in the context of Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, whether it is in the context of bans on the use of propensity evidence – she has been a powerful voice for the accused.”
Four of the seven members of the Court of Appeals are former prosecutors. If Rivera is not reappointed, and if her successor does not come from a similar public interest or public defense background, LaFalce said the court would lose the perspective of those who represent criminal defendants.
Since Chief Judge Rowan Wilson took over as leader of the Court of Appeals in 2024, the court has granted more criminal leave applications – requests for permission to appeal an appellate court ruling on a criminal case – compared to previous administrations. If someone without Rivera’s advocacy background is chosen as a replacement, Falce said the court may be less willing to grant those applications.
“One concern is that fewer criminal cases may be heard if she is not renamed to the court,” LaFalce said. “She and Wilson are often aligned ideologically, but she's the sole judge with the experience of representing people who are unhoused, representing people who have been discriminated against.”
Falce has also worked alongside the Center for Community Alternatives, a judicial reform advocacy group that regularly campaigns against the practice of “rubber-stamping” trial court judges to new terms. CCA previously led the successful campaign to prevent the nomination of Judge Hector LaSalle as New York’s next chief judge in 2023, the first Court of Appeals nominee in New York history to be rejected by the State Senate.
Judges on the Court of Appeals serve 14-year terms and can reapply for a second term. If a judge turns 70 years old during their term, they must retire.
Rivera, who is currently 65 years old, has reportedly indicated she plans to reapply. But even in the event of her reappointment, the commission would need to find a replacement for her when her required retirement comes in 2032.
Senior Associate Judge Jenny Rivera’s term on the Court of Appeals is set to end on Feb. 10, 2027. Photo via the Unified Court System
Anyone aiming for a seat will also face a different application landscape compared to when Rivera was nominated, as the state Commission on Judicial Nomination also announced several changes to their board membership in recent months.
The commission responsible is for evaluating candidates to fill Court of Appeals vacancies and recommending them to the governor for nomination.
In June, the commission elected longtime attorney Elizabeth Fine as chairperson, succeeding Leo Milonas, who ran the commission from 2019 to 2024. Fine, an attorney and advisor who has previously served as counsel for Governor Kathy Hochul and to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, is the seventh elected chairperson. Hochul first appointed Fine to the commission on June 30, 2025.
Following Fine’s elevation to chairperson, the Unified Court System also appointed a new member to the commission.
Cynthia Nixon, well-known actor, director and political activist, was quietly appointed to the commission by Chief Judge Rowan Wilson earlier this month. While most likely recognize her as Miranda from the television show “Sex and the City,” Nixon has also been a longtime political activist and made an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2018.
Nixon has never practiced law and is not admitted to the bar, but that’s actually what qualifies her for the commission. Per state law, the chief judge of New York can appoint four of the 12 commission members. Of those four, two members are not allowed to be admitted to the bar.
Nixon’s term on the commission will last until 2030, and she could play a fundamental role in shaping New York’s judiciary.
During a constitutionally-mandated panel meeting on July 13 that was hosted by the New York State Bar Association, commission members said it is important to get involved in the application process early even if one doesn’t expect to be appointed.
Henry Greenberg, counsel to the commission, said many of the judges currently sitting on the Court of Appeals applied multiple times before they were interviewed by the commission.
“It’s very important for anyone who's interested in being a judge in the Court of Appeals to get involved in the process, get in front of the commission,” Greenberg said. “Not getting an interview does not necessarily mean that a candidate will not have an opportunity in the future.”
Even after the matter of Rivera’s seat is decided, more opportunities to join the bench will soon follow. The commission will be making nominations for three different vacancies on the Court of Appeals in 2029 and 2030, Greenberg said.
