We extend our congratulations to Hector LaSalle, current presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department, on his nomination by Governor Hochul to become Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, a position previously held by such legal luminaries as Benjamin N. Cardozo, Stanley H. Fuld and Judith S. Kaye. While it is a great honor, it is an equally great burden. The Chief Judge not only carries a full caseload as one of the court’s seven judges, but also (1) supervises the work of the court, (2) oversees the work of New York’s entire Unified Court System, and (3) is a member of the Judicial Conference of the State of New York.

During the weeks before Governor Hochul’s selection of Judge LaSalle to be the next Chief Judge, she was lobbied by many individuals and organizations, including the Center for Community Alternatives, “a leader in community based alternatives to incarceration promoting ‘reintegrative justice’ and a reduced sentence on incarceration.” The Center sent the Governor a letter “co-signed by more than 100 other progressive organizations” that demanded “the next Chief Judge must not be a former prosecutor” (New York Times, Dec. 13, 2022); three members of the present court are former prosecutors.