New York’s most powerful state court stands at a crossroads. Three out of the seven seats on the New York Court of Appeals will become vacant in the coming year, and the judges appointed to fill those spots will help shape the direction of the court, and our state, for the next two decades.

As the U.S. Supreme Court retreats from its responsibilities as the guardian of constitutional principles of liberty and equality, we must look increasingly to our state courts for leadership on these issues. As the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg explained, “State courts interpreting state law remain particularly well situated to enforce individual rights against the States.”