It Is Important to Fill Vacancies in the Judiciary

It is unfortunate that the people of our great state have been denied the confirmation by the New York State Senate of the governor’s appointment of Janet DiFiore as chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals. As of Jan. 1, 2016, upon the retirement of Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, the court was reduced to five members, the number it requires for a quorum to hear cases. The court has scheduled 21 cases for argument during the first two weeks of the January term. While having a sitting chief judge to hear these cases is important, the other significant duties of the chief judge involve the basic ability of our judicial system statewide to function smoothly. And yet the leadership of the Senate is reported to have said confirmation can wait. Surely the humiliation the people have suffered in the press recently from the convictions of Silver and Skelos should have justified the cost of the Senate acting swiftly and in accordance with the law so that the state’s judicial arm can continue to perform its work effectively.

Of equal importance to note at this time is the failure of the governor to make necessary appointments to our four Appellate Division departments. For example, in the First Department, the court lost its presiding justice on Dec. 31. This leaves the court six judges short of its authorized compliment. The court hears more than 80 appeals every week and has been reduced in many cases to four-judge panels because of its reduced number of judges. It is without question one of the most highly regarded appellate courts in the land and today it is without an appointed presiding justice. There are many able Appellate Division Justices on the court itself who are highly qualified to be presiding justice and many justices in our trial parts to fill the existing vacancies. This same shortage of judges prevails in the other departments, and the Fourth Department also lost its presiding justice on Dec. 31. It is clear that the presiding justice in our Appellate Divisions is vitally important to their effective functioning both at the judicial and administrative levels.