City Bar Names Members of Working Group on Court of Appeals Nomination Process
New York City Bar Association President Susan J. Kohlmann today announced the members of the working group that will examine the nomination process for judges on New York’s Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court.
In a statement in January, as controversy continued over Governor Hochul’s selection of Justice Hector LaSalle as Chief Judge, Kohlmann said, “In light of the issues now being raised and publicly debated – including whether the state constitutional processes and requirements for nominating and confirming judges for the Court of Appeals could be improved – the City Bar will undertake to examine those aspects of the process essential to ensuring the quality and independence of our state judiciary and maintaining the public’s trust.”
The 37-member working group will be co-chaired by Michael Regan, a former chair of the City Bar’s Council on Judicial Administration, and Amy Carlin, the current chair of the City Bar’s State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction Committee. (See full list below.)
The working group will evaluate two questions:
- Should the current constitutional and statutory scheme for nominating, appointing and confirming judges to the Court of Appeals be modified and, if so, how? This includes the processes by which the Commission on Judicial Nomination is constituted and conducts its business.
- Are there beneficial changes that should be considered with respect to the City Bar’s judicial evaluation process for the Court of Appeals, a process that is undertaken jointly by the Judiciary Committee, the State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction Committee and the Board of Directors?
In naming the working group members, and the City Bar committees they represent, Kohlmann said, “I am so pleased with the composition of this group. These are members who volunteered to take part in this effort on behalf of the City Bar, knowing that it is timely, important and likely to require significant discussion, deliberation and debate. Collectively they have experience across a broad cross-section of public, private and nonprofit positions, and I suspect they will have an equally diverse set of viewpoints. What they share, however, is a deep understanding of how important it is to maintain a strong and independent state judiciary – one that can hold the public’s trust.”
The members of the working group are listed below.
Mohammed Alam, Government Ethics Committee
Patricia Astorga, Women in the Legal Profession Committee
Hon. Steven Barrett, Council on Judicial Administration
William Bell, State Courts Committee
Nishat Bella Tabassum, Women in the Legal Profession Committee
Effie Blassberger, Women in the Legal Profession Committee
Tracy Burnett, Women in the Legal Profession Committee
Robert Calinoff, Council on Judicial Administration
Amy Carlin, Chair, State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction Committee
Kathy Chin, Former Board Member
Catherine Christian, Rule of Law Task Force
James Chou, Council on Judicial Administration
Matthew Cowherd, Government Ethics Committee
Philip Desgranges, Board Member
Scott Eisman, Council on Judicial Administration
Harry Fidler, Government Ethics Committee
Jenifer Foley, Former NY State Bar delegate
Jerry H. Goldfeder, Rule of Law Task Force
Evan Henley, Civil Rights Committee
Richard Hong, Minorities in the Courts Committee
Jhaniel James, Minorities in the Courts Committee
Mark Landau, State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction Committee
Conika Majumdar, Judiciary Committee
Roger Juan Maldonado, Former City Bar President
Scott Mollen, Judiciary Committee
Edward Murray, Government Ethics Committee
Maria Park, State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction Committee
Michael Regan, Former Chair, Council on Judicial Administration
William Russell, Board of Directors
Joseph Sanderson, State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction Committee
Diego M. Santiago, Minorities in the Courts Committee
Richard Schager, State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction Committee
Michael Shapiro, Rule of Law Task Force
Philip Tisne, Council on Judicial Administration
An Truong, Women in the Legal Profession Committee
Susan Turk, Council on Judicial Administration
Judy Whiting, Board of Directors
Mark Zeno, Former Board Member
Related: See the City Bar’s statement on the future of the State Constitution’s Commission on Judicial Nomination here.
