Web Desk:
According to the NY Post and Spectrum local news, Newly elected Gov. Kathy Hochul will choose a new chief judge from a list of seven names unveiled this week by a state panel to lead New York’s highest court.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said that this will matter for all New Yorkers, the court rules on a tremendous range of issues, from housing protections to business disputes to medical malpractice to voting rights.”
According to e law, the governor must make her decision between December 8 and December 23 to nominate a permanent replacement for ex-chief Judge Janet DiFiore. Former Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, appointed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, resigned in July amid a reported judicial conduct investigation.
The State Senate will then have 30 days to confirm or reject her appointment.
Here are the names of seven candidates nominated for chief judge:
- Anthony Cannataro is currently the acting chief judge after being appointed to the Court of Appeals by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
- Abbe Gluck, a Yale-trained lawyer, and doctor, previously served as the lead counsel for the White House COVID-19 Response under President Biden.
- Hector LaSalle heads the busy Appellate Division, Second Department in Brooklyn where his administrative record could catch Hochul’s eye.
- Jeffrey Oing, an associate justice at the Appellate Division, First Department in Manhattan, could become the first Asian American to lead the Court of Appeals.
- Alicia Ouellette is the dean of Albany Law School, an expert on disability issues, and former assistant solicitor general and assistant state attorney general.
- Edwina Richardson-Mendelson could be the first Black woman to be the chief judge after serving on the Court of Claims and overseeing anti-bias initiatives under DiFiore.
- Corey Stoughton is a longtime criminal defense attorney who has worked for The Legal Aid Society and the New York Civil Liberties Union.
