A retired state Supreme Court justice and a New York litigator with knowledge of the talks say that some of the 46 senior judges being cut by the state court system due to a pandemic-fueled $300 million budget slash have been in discussions about possibly bringing a lawsuit against the court system that would be aimed at keeping their positions.

The retired justice, who asked for anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said that as part of the talks, numerous Supreme Court trial-level judges have expressed interest in bringing one lawsuit in conjunction with Appellate Division justices who are also losing their positions under the tough budget cut. But he said the Appellate Division justices believe they have an argument or arguments to make in a legal action that are not available to the Supreme Court justices, and so at this point, if they lodge a lawsuit, they would do so separately.