New York State Court Officers Association President Dennis Quirk, who has in recent weeks been locked in a feud with Chief Judge Janet DiFiore over a vaccine mandate for court system employees, has retired from his position as a court officer after a nearly 50-year tenure.

Quirk told the Law Journal that he retired from the post to give him more freedom to publicly denounce DiFiore and her recently announced mandate for all court system employees to receive COVID-19 vaccines by Sept. 27.