Janet DiFiore, chief justice of the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, said she will step down at the end of August, even as lawmakers in Albany continue to codify and review strong laws. more about gun and abortion, the central measures of a national debate and legality can be determined by the state judiciary.
In an interview on Monday morning, Miss DiFioreThe 66-year-old, who is in charge of the state’s entire court system, said that no events caused her resignation, but she was ready to pursue other opportunities after more than six years of work.
“I made my contribution,” she said, adding that she had no other work waiting, but felt it was a “comfortable time” to move on. However, she allows that there will be “another chapter in my professional career.”
“What that is, at the moment, I’m not sure,” she said.
The Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals, which has seven members, is New York’s highest judicial office. Ms. DiFiore will be replaced by an acting chief justice, chosen by six other judges on the court, until a successor is named by Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, and confirmed. by the state Senate, also led by a Democrat. super majority.
Ms. DiFiore, a former district attorney in Westchester County, has nominated to the court in 2015 of the previous governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, who resigned last August. She is the second female chief justice, after Judith S. Kaye, and is one of six people appointed by Mr. Cuomo. Her resignation will result in Ms. Hochul’s second appointment to the New York high court; the first is Shirley Troutman last year.
The job of the chief justice of the Court of Appeal, where jurists are appointed to 14-year terms, is a heavy one, requiring oversight not only of the high court itself but also of the wider judicial system. It operates on a budget of $3 billion and includes more than 1,350 state judges, along with 1,850 other town and village judges and more than 14,000 non-judicial staff.
New York’s courts could act as a bulwark for conservative rulings from the US Supreme Court, which recently overturned abortion rights and curtailed New York’s law regulating the carrying of weapons. gas is concealed.
But on Monday, Ms. DiFiore responded to such questions, saying her proudest moments have involved managing the chronically overwhelmed judiciary, maintaining client balance authorities of New York and handle proceedings during the Covid crisis. The pandemic has severely curtailed in-person proceedings statewide in most cases, with arguments being held virtually instead within the baroque confines of its Albany courtroom, for example. .
“It was a great challenge every day,” she said.
Ms. DiFiore’s legacy can best be determined by a sweeping 32-page opinion she wrote in April to a divided court that said Democratic leaders had violated the state Constitution. states as they draw up new state congressional and Senate districts. The opinion, for a majority of four judges, also said the Democratic-designed congressional districts violated the state’s explicit ban on partisan protest activity.
The decision angered Democrats, who have publicly accused the judge of carrying out an extrajudicial power struggle.
In a statement Monday afternoon, Hochul said Ms. DiFiore had “dedicated her career to the people of New York,” and praised her ability to lead the court system “especially in this uncertain time. of the COVID-19 pandemic”. She added that she will review a state commission’s recommendations for new judges as soon as those recommendations are made.
Jonathan Lippman, Ms. DiFiore’s predecessor, said there are clearly liberal and conservative trends on the court, in both criminal and civil justice.
“But I don’t think this judge lives or dies because of whether people think she’s liberal or conservative or centrist,” he said. “She has her own point of view. She dealt with each case as they came in, and I think she’s a strong leader.”
“I don’t think anyone would have predicted the recent scary decision,” he added. “And it has national significance. And she did what she thought was right.”
Nicholas Fandos contribution report.
