New York courts terminate 46 judges in move to slash budget
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Queens Supreme Courts will lose at least six judges as a result of court system cost-cutting decisions. Another five judges over 70 will retire. Eagle file photo by Andy Katz
By David Brand
The careers of at least six Queens Supreme Court justices will come to an end Dec. 31 after the Office of Court Administration decided to cut ties with nearly every judge over age 70 in the state.
Overall, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and OCA’s Administrative Board denied recertification to 46 of the 49 judges who applied across New York. Under state law, supreme court justices are required to apply for recertification and undergo cognitive exams every two years after turning 70 until they reach a mandatory retirement age of 76.
The terminations are a cost-cutting measure for a court system seeking to slash 10 percent of its budget, or $300 million, said Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks in a memo sent to administrative judges across the state Tuesday.
“This extremely difficult but necessary determination will save the court system more than $55 million over the next two years,” Marks said. “This will far better help enable the court system to avoid layoffs, or greatly reduce the number of layoffs should that extreme measure become unavoidable.”
The Queens judges who were denied recertification include Civil Term Justices Bernice Siegal, Joseph Esposito and Maureen Healy, along with Appellate Division Justice Sheri Roman. Two others, Justice Martin Schulman and Justice Rudy Greco, are retiring. Justice Frederick Sampson, another judge over 70, was recertified for a new two-year term last year and said he does not yet know if he will be allowed to continue working through 2021.
On the Criminal Term side, Justice Richard Buchter, Ira Margolis and Daniel Lewis were not recertified after they completed the typically routine process. Justices Barry Schwartz, Ronald Hollie and Leslie Leach, a former Civil Supreme Court administrative judge, have each decided to retire.
“These are great judges, great assets to the bench, judges I relied on frequently,” said Criminal Term Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas, who acknowledged the financial strain on the court system. “It’s an unceremonial way to end glorious careers. I’m sorry to lose them.”
Several other judges, faced with more work shared among fewer colleagues, have also begun to consider retirement, said former Queens Supreme Court, Civil Term Administrative Judge Jeremy Weinstein. He said the OCA administrators could have waited until after the November election to make the decision because The possibility of Democrats reclaiming the White House and U.S. Senate could mean more funding for the state.
“Franky, I’m shocked and extremely disappointed with this ill advised decision,” said Weinstein, who oversaw all the civil court judges facing termination. “The courts will be decimated and it will take years to restore it to its current levels.”
“Chief Judge Janet DiFiore has made excellence and efficiency a hallmark of her administration and, in my judgement, the courts were well on its way to meeting her high standards, now I fear that that is impossible,” he continued.
The decision not to recertify the judges will also affect their law secretaries and court clerks, who will either be picked up by another judge with an opening or laid off. The cutbacks come amid mounting caseloads as a result of the COVID crisis.
The financial considerations do not take into account the “personal toll and the destruction of morale among the judiciary which has given its heart and soul to these courts for many, many years only to be shown the door,” Weinstein said. “The loss of their expertise and knowledge is irreplaceable and the public will be the ones who ultimately suffer.”
An active Queens Supreme Court judge said the cost-cutting move was made to appease Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“They’ve got to show the governor they’re doing something, and show the judiciary is on board, and they’ll do whatever they have to do to balance the budget,” said the Queens judge, who asked to remain anonymous to speak freely. ‘They don’t care. They’re billions with a B in debt.”
Cuomo’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The three judges who were granted recertification are each high-ranking Appellate judges who have “additional assignments that are important to the court system,” said OCA spokesperson Lucian Chalfen.
Appellate Division, First Department Administrative Judge Angela Mazzarelli was granted recertification because “she is on a number of task forces and commissions such as the State Commission on Judicial Conduct,” Chalfen said.
Appellate Term, First Department Justice Carol Edmead “has large complex case load inventory and election law,” he added.
Appellate Term, Second Department Administrative Judge Jerry Garguilo has “a complex civil opioid trial coming up against a group of drug manufacturers and distributors,” Chalfen said.
