We begin this month’s column by noting some recent developments regarding the Court of Appeals. The year 2016 saw our new Chief Judge, Janet DiFiore, and Judge Michael J. Garcia join the court after the retirements of former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and Judge Susan Phillips Read. Judge Eugene F. Pigott will retire at the end of this year, and the Commission on Judicial Nominations recently hosted an informational meeting at the New York City Bar Association to discuss the nomination process and, presumably, to encourage qualified candidates to apply. The speakers included former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and former Associate Judges Read and Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick. There are no further mandatory retirements until December 2021. So it looks as if, once Judge Pigott’s replacement is nominated and confirmed, the court’s makeup will remain the same for the immediate future.

Also of interest is the fact that the schedule of arguments for October and November reveals that 38 cases have been scheduled for argument, at least 21 of which appear to be criminal matters. This is a significantly higher percentage of criminal matters than we have seen in the past. Because leave to appeal in criminal matters can be granted either by the Court of Appeals or the Appellate Divisions, it is not clear at this point whether the high percentage of criminal cases is an anomaly or an indication of a new focus on criminal matters by the Court of Appeals.

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