I have been privileged to serve as a member of the Governor’s Judicial Screening Committee for the Appellate Division, First Department. In this capacity, I have participated in screening candidates seeking a designation to the Appellate Division, First Department. By statute, those candidates must be elected Supreme Court Justices. Geographically, the Appellate Division, First Department consists of two counties—The Bronx and New York County. The Governor is the sole appointing authority for a position on the Appellate Division.
A screening process has been engrafted upon the appointing authority of the Governor. Mandatory screening is not a new concept. In fact, the Magna Carta provided that the King would “appoint as justices only such as know the law of the realm and mean to observe it well.” Kaminsky, “A Proposal for Mandatory Preselection Screening for State Court Judges,” 51 St. John’s Law Review 516 (Spring 1977). The Governor is empowered (to a point), to designate Supreme Court Justices elected from any county within an Appellate Division Department to any other Appellate Division Department, although it is more common for members of one of New York’s Appellate Divisions to have been elected from the constituent counties of that particular Department. There have been exceptions, of course, over the years. For example, during Governor Pataki’s administration, he designated many Supreme Court Justices from upstate counties to the Appellate Division, First Department. As a matter of fact, a Presiding Justice of the First Department was John Buckley, an upstate Judge appointed by Governor Pataki. With retirements and death, the court has more recently appointed its justices from either The Bronx or New York County.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
