The quality of nominees to replace retired Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, increased interest in the position in and of itself, and the fact that only one of the choices is a current judge of the state’s highest court were among the main topics of interest to legal observers Monday, days after a shortlist of candidates was revealed.

The Commission on Judicial Nominations’ shortlist was New York Court of Appeals Acting Chief Judge Anthony Cannataro; Abbe Gluck, the Alfred M. Rankin Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at the Yale Law School; appellate level Judges Hector LaSalle and Jeffrey Oing, of the second and first departments, respectively, with LaSalle a presiding justice; Albany Law School President and Dean Alicia Ouellette; Edwina Richardson-Mendelson, deputy chief administrative judge for Justice Initiatives; and Corey Stoughton, attorney-in-charge of special litigation and law reform at the Legal Aid Society.