Now that the holiday season envelops us collectively, it is time to pause and reflect on what has occurred over the past year and consider that for which we are grateful.

The legal community in the state continues to be a standard bearer for the sanctity of the Rule of Law, which serves as a counter-weight to the tumult of our times. Important to the legal system, its mission statement and its laudable pursuits, is the partnership of the Judiciary, the bar and the people who work in the courts and provide structural support to the Judicial institutions.

At the helm is our chief judge, who has provided strong leadership and compassion for the court's constituent groups. She has been determined in guiding the courts by deploying her “excellence initiative” and nurturing many other innovative programs. 

Like any other complex system, however, there are less than boundless resources to tap and there is never a dearth of competing interests at play for the limited resources. In that backdrop, it is not unexpected that there are legitimate labor disputes that will surface including staffing and personnel issues in our courts. Moreover, our legal system is not immune from the tensions that sometimes arise between management and labor. Notwithstanding, there is no place in this very legitimate discussion for ugly rhetoric and ethnic insult. 

It is no secret that the chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, Janet DiFiore, is a highly-respected professional woman and Jurist of Italian-American Heritage.

The presidents of the New York State Court Officers Association and the Supreme Court Officers Association and their rank and file have equated the Office of Court Administration with an “Organized Crime Association.”

The reference to organized crime may arguably have a multitude of contexts, however, the characterization has been historically and quite regrettably attached to the Italian American community. The Court Officers' Union did not originate the reference but certainly has perpetuated the insulting nature of it.

It is not a stretch to surmise, that the chief judge, the perceived (management) antagonist to the union (labor) in this scenario, was the intended target of the offensive slur. Accordingly, after the passage of time and the opportunity for sober reflection, the Confederation of Columbian Lawyer Associations is now expressing an opinion about this sensitive subject. The confederation is an organization comprised of approximately 1,500 attorneys and jurists, men and women, of both Italian-American and non-Italian ancestry, who are affiliated with Columbian Lawyers groups dispersed throughout nine of New York State's counties.

Chief Judge DiFiore is a proud Columbian lawyer. While some may contend that the organized crime reference was not intended to besmirch the ethnicity of the chief judge and the Italian-American community here in New York State, the net effect of its utterance was that of an ethnic slur.

Perhaps the approach of the holiday season and the turn of another calendar year presents a ripe opportunity for those who speak with passion for their cause to tone down their rhetoric and choose their words and references more carefully, leading aspirationally to an overall more constructive discourse.

Far too much incivility exists on a national level. The legal community of New York State deserves much better.

Confederation of Columbian Lawyer Associations   

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