Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Photo: Bloomberg

Gov. Andrew Cuomo no longer wants the state comptroller to audit the judiciary, agreeing instead to have Chief Judge Janet DiFiore deal with any performance issues.

DiFiore assured the governor that intervention wasn't necessary.

“Because of these discussions, we do remain confident that steps will be taken as part of the Excellence Initiative to make sure judges perform a full day's work. Obviously this is an issue we're still very much interested in and we'll be monitoring progress,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said.

When Cuomo unveiled his $168.2 billion budget in his address to the Legislature in January, he included a proposal to increase the judiciary's budget by 2.5 percent if judges would certify that their courtrooms will remain open until 5 p.m. daily in an effort to cut backlogs.

The proposal was unpopular with the judiciary, and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks said requiring judges to be at work at least eight hours a day is an “unusual proposal” and “unnecessary.”

The New York state Senate and Assembly also didn't support the governor's proposal, saying in March that they would not include such a provision in their budget bills.

“These are professional people, we shouldn't treat them like schoolkids,” state Sen. John Bonacic, an Orange County Republican who chairs the chamber's Judiciary committee, said in an interview with the New York Law Journal. “Their jobs are not easy, and we aren't prepared to demean them in any way from the important work they do.”

Lucian Chalfen, director of public information for the Office of Court Administration, said the judiciary welcomed the governor's decision to allow the judiciary to monitor itself.

“We appreciate the governor's confidence in the chief judge and her Excellence Initiative, which directly addresses the efficiency of court operations and the reduction of case backlogs,” Chalfen said. “Delivering justice in a timely fashion involves the tireless work of both judicial and non-judicial personnel and should someone fall short, they will be held accountable.”