The 2018-2019 New York State fiscal year budget negotiations are in full swing in Albany.  Governor Cuomo delivered his State of the State address to the Legislature, and a proposed budget has been put forth for us to decipher and scrutinize. During the governor's address, he made attention grabbing statements about, and a proposal regarding, the New York State judiciary. Under the governor's proposal, state-paid judges or justices assigned to trial courts of the state's Unified Court System would have to certify each month, in a statement, that they “performed judicial duties at an assigned court location for the full daily period of at least eight hours.” The state comptroller would also conduct periodic reviews and audit the certifications to “ensure that the state is responsibly authorizing state dollars for judicial salaries and the operation of state trial courts,“ according to legislation proposed by the governor's office.  Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office would then “evaluate the accuracy of the judicial certification and the effectiveness of the certification system as a whole,” according to the proposed legislation.

This is an imperious overreach by the governor, and an all out attack upon our state's Judicial branch. The New York State Constitution mirrors our federal constitution in relation to the principle of “separation of powers.” The intent is to prevent the concentration of power in one branch, and to provide for checks and balances. The governor as chief executive has no power or authority over the day to day operation of the courts. The three branches of our state's government are co-equal. The Office of Court Administration (OCA) is the administrative body sanctioned by the chief judge of our state's highest court to manage and oversee the day to day administration of the courts. Supervising judges have clerks come to the courtrooms in the morning and afternoon sessions daily to monitor courtroom activity. Daily activity logs are created and sent to OCA. The chief judge and her designees monitor the statistics of every judge closely.

Simply put, a governor should not interfere, impress his will or commandeer another co-equal branch. As our judges do their best to steer clear of the political world, you will not hear them complain, protest or condemn this overreach. It is however, incumbent upon members of the legislature to speak up, defend and protect the judicial branch against this overreach. This is the nature of the checks and balances that our State Constitution provides for.

During my career, I have had the privilege of working as a research assistant, a court attorney, and as a law clerk to a justice of the Supreme Court, and other judges within the Unified Court System. I can attest to the scholarship, diligence, professionalism and compassion of our judges in Staten Island and Brooklyn. I have no doubt that the same is true throughout the rest of the state. These men and women, who could make far more money in the private sector, devote themselves to public service because they believe in the law, and the concepts of justice and fairness. On a tight shoestring budget, the men and women of our judiciary undertake some of the most essential and important roles in our society.

The judges in our lower courts, criminal, civil, and housing, routinely put in much longer than eight hour days. Our criminal court judges work nights and weekends 365 days a year. Our judges start work early, and they take work home with them. They are constantly reading, learning, and even teaching, in our law schools, colleges and universities. These are not ordinary civil servants and they are not ordinary people. They are learned professionals and academics worthy of our respect, honor and admiration. They rarely get praise and we only hear about them in the press, however rarely, when something goes terribly wrong. The governor's proposal for the judiciary to 'punch a clock' is a disparaging and dangerous notion for our democracy.

Washington said that the administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government and that the courts are essential to the stability of our political system. Let us stand together upon that pillar, and and send a message to the governor that separation of powers is important, and that the checks and balances provided for in our State Constitution are still as strong and effective as they were when crafted over 240 years ago.

Ron Castorina Jr. is a New York state assemblyman.