NY appellate court hears case of older judges facing termination

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Three Queens Supreme Court, Civil Term justices over age 70 are facing termination, along with three justices in Criminal Term and 40 others throughout the state. Eagle file photo by David Brand

Three Queens Supreme Court, Civil Term justices over age 70 are facing termination, along with three justices in Criminal Term and 40 others throughout the state. Eagle file photo by David Brand

By David Brand

An Albany appellate court heard arguments Tuesday in the case of New York judges over 70 facing termination in what state leaders have termed a cost-cutting measure.

Office of Court Administration leaders decided not to recertify four dozen older New York judges in September 2020, a move they said would help the court system slash $300 million from its budget. Under state rules, 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.

Two groups — a collection of appellate judges and an organization representing hundreds of state Supreme Court justices — sued to block the near-wholesale terminations, charging OCA and Chief Judge Janet DiFiore with age discrimination.

The lawsuit filed by the appellate judges reached the Third Department Appellate Division Tuesday after a Suffolk County Supreme Court justice sided with the plaintiffs and ruled they could remain on the bench pending an appeal. 

The lawyer representing OCA lambasted Suffolk County Justice Paul Baisley’s December 2020 decision.

“In the midst of a global pandemic, with a $14 billion deficit, to do what the court below did was unconscionable,” said attorney Hank Greenberg, former president of the New York State Bar Association.

Some of the affected judges decided to hang up their robes at the end of 2020, but others say they are eager to continue working. 

Queens Justice Carmen Velasquez, the new president of the Supreme Court Justices Association of the State of New York, said her organization is committed to the fight to recertify the judges. Her organization sued OCA to save the jobs of the state supreme court judges facing termination.

“We are still cautiously optimistic about the appellate division doing the right thing, which is to look at the misguided view that OCA has with respect to the recertification of our judges,” Velasquez said Wednesday.

OCA spokesperson Lucian Chalfen also sounded a positive note a day after proceedings. “We remain confident in our position,” he said.