New York State Court of Appeals Judge Michael Garcia has been appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court to serve on a federal advisory committee to improve how criminal cases are handled in federal courts.

Garcia, who was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to serve on the Court of Appeals in 2016, will serve on the Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules for the next three years.

Garcia will remain on the Court of Appeals and serve in both positions at the same time. His role on the federal committee is advisory in nature rather than judicial.

The committee is tasked with proposing changes to the rules governing the practice and procedure in criminal cases at the federal level. Those rules are developed to promote simplicity, fairness, and efficiency in criminal proceedings.

The committee then recommends any changes to the Judicial Conference, which administers new policies within the federal court system. The U.S. Supreme Court gives final approval to any proposed changes.

Garcia has served on the state's highest court for the last two years, but much of his legal career before the appointment was spent litigating and developing federal laws.

He was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1992 to 2001. For the four years that followed he served in varying capacities in the federal government. He was the assistant secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement, the acting commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Garcia then served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York until the Obama presidency. He was replaced in 2009 by former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. He worked at Kirkland & Ellis until his appointment to the Court of Appeals in 2016.

Garcia's term on the committee is set to begin Oct. 1.