Starting tonight, on a golf course in Brooklyn, this year’s crop of the most important trial court justices – for the New York State Supreme Court – will be formed. Welcome to the Democratic, anti-Democrat nominating conventions run by Democratic Party leaders, being held in 13 jurisdictions between now and next Wednesday.
13 is not to be unlucky, but the number of judicial districts. But do not confuse this with the number of judicial departments, which is four. If you’re confused, you’re supposed to be.
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The GOP also has these funny affairs, where delegates seal local leadership elections to appear on the November ballot. This means that in the city (except Staten Island), only Democrats matter. It is structured in state law this way to avoid primaries where actual voters make the choice. And unfortunately, it’s all legal. The US Supreme Court unanimously ruled in 2008 that this terrible system was constitutional, although as Justice John Paul Stevens wrote, praising Thurgood Marshall: “The Constitution does not prohibit legislatures from enacting stupid laws.”
There are 350 such judges, who serve 14-year terms. That’s longer than the other 1,000 judges in the state. Supremes are paid the most, $210,900, and only they can request leave to serve 70 years. That extra time, until age 76, is a privilege, not a right, a terrible bill that the Legislature passed and Hochul ultimately vetoed. year would have turned it into. The Legislature passed it again this year, and Hochul must veto it again.
The Legislature created 14 more of those plums this year, and poles can fill them now. There are 10 vacancies in Brooklyn, two of them brand new. Word is that Susan Quirk, daughter of notorious court officers’ union boss Dennis Quirk, is a good bet for a slot. The fact that she lives in Staten Island is no concern for the Brooklyn car.
Quirk’s sworn enemy, Chief Justice Janet DiFiore, saw her daughter take one of these seats in Westchester in 2020. What’s good for the goose is good for the goose.
