New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday swore in nine new interim Civil Court judges, according to a City Council member who has for the past few years agitated for the mayor to make appointments to the bench more quickly to reduce case backlogs in the city's courts.   

De Blasio's nominees are Michael Gaffey, Wanda Licitra, Archana Rao, Robert Rosenthal, Quynda Santacroce, Audrey Stone, Jonathan Svetkey, Kerry Ward and Jay Weiner.

Judicial nominees are vetted by the New York City Bar Association's committee on the judiciary and the mayor's advisory committee on the judiciary; the latter committee signed off on the nominees Friday.

Interim Civil Court judges are appointed to serve terms of up to one year and are typically assigned to hear cases in the city's Criminal and Family Courts.

City Councilman Rory Lancman, the chair of the council's committee on the justice system who has been critical of the mayor's office for delays in making judicial appointments, praised the appointment of the new judges in a written statement in which he said that bringing new blood to the bench in New York City is “great news for our justice system and ongoing efforts to reduce case backlog in our criminal justice system.”

“I urge the mayor to commit to fill future interim Civil Court vacancies on time, so that our courts are not forced to operate without a full slate of judges for weeks or months on end,” Lancman said.

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