ALBANY — In an unprecedented move, Democrats rejected Gov. Hochul’s choice to serve as the state’s top jurist Wednesday following an at-times testy Senate confirmation hearing and weeks of public opposition to the pick.
A total of 10 Dems on the 19-member Senate Judiciary Committee voted against advancing the nomination of Hector LaSalle to be the chief judge of the Court of Appeals to a full floor vote.
“The nomination is lost and and we will proceed based on that information,” Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan) said as he adjourned the hearing amid an uproar from LaSalle supporters.
The State Senate has never rejected a governor’s pick for chief judge since the current nomination system has been in place since the 1970s and the move may set the stage for potential legal action from the Democratic governor.
LaSalle spent much of the nearly five-hour hearing defending his record, saying early on he wanted to “set the record straight” as he countered claims that he’s too conservative to be New York’s top judge.
The 54-year-old described himself as a union supporter and a fair-minded jurist as he faced questions from lawmakers about his past and shot down criticisms about past rulings.
“I believe passionately that our justice system should be the great equalizer,” LaSalle said. “Like every judge, I know that not everyone agrees with every ruling, but I can promise you that in every case, I have sought and will continue to seek to give everyone a fair shake, to listen to arguments carefully, to do my best to apply the law to the facts before us, and to work with my colleagues to reach a fair and just result,” LaSalle said during his opening remarks.
Supporters erupted in applause several times throughout the hearing as LaSalle defended his record.
Hochul’s nomination of LaSalle, however, prompted intense pushback from a number of her fellow Democrats, labor leaders and advocates who argued the former prosecutor’s judicial records showed him to be anti-union, anti-reproductive rights and overall too right-leaning to run the state judiciary.
The Long Island native currently serves as the presiding justice of the 2nd Appellate Division in Brooklyn and he would have been the first Latino to lead the Court of Appeals if confirmed.
LaSalle described his working-class upbringing and repeatedly said he believes in reproductive rights and supports unions, arguing that several of the cases highlighted by opponents were situations in which he was often “constrained” by state law and precedent.
“Any suggestion that I am anti-union or anti-labor is untrue,” LaSalle said, recalling how he joined his Puerto Rican grandmother on the picket line as a child when she worked at an Entenmann’s bakery on Long Island.
“When you’re talking about labor, those are the people who raised me,” he added.
Opponents, particularly labor leaders, have slammed a 2015 ruling LaSalle joined that allowed a defamation lawsuit filed by Cablevision to proceed against union leaders since the company argued they were acting in their personal capacity when they criticized the TV and internet provider’s response to Hurricane Sandy.
More than a dozen Senate Democrats publicly voiced opposition to LaSalle over the past month.
Supporters say LaSalle is being unfairly painted as a conservative and many of his past colleagues have praised his record and his work as an administrator.
“You do not come across as a rightwing conservative nut,” Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) told LaSalle during the hearing as Republicans on the panel overall appeared more open to his confirmation.
In the end, only two Democrats, Sens. Luis Sepulveda (D-Bronx) and Kevin Thomas (D-Nassau), voted in favor of advancing LaSalle to the floor.
Sen. Jamaal Bailey (D-Bronx) and the six Republicans on the committee voted to advance without recommendation while the remaining 10 Democrats voted against LaSalle.
As the hearing wrapped up, Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-Suffolk), the ranking Republican on the committee, could be heard asking for a motion to advance the nomination to a floor vote as Hoylman-Sigal gaveled out.
Following the vote, Hochul maintained her support for LaSalle and reiterated that she believes his nomination should be moved to the full 63-seat chamber, where Democrats have a 42-member supermajority.
“While this was a thorough hearing, it was not a fair one, because the outcome was predetermined,” the governor said, lamenting the fact that several members expressed their opposition prior to the hearing. “While the Committee plays a role, we believe the Constitution requires action by the full Senate.”
Senate Dems expanded the number of lawmakers serving on the committee earlier this month from 15 to 19.
It remains to be seen if Hochul will attempt to sue the Senate over the decision and force a full floor vote. The Buffalo News reported on Tuesday that Hochul has been discussing such a move with lawyers.
Former chief judge Jonathan Lippman is among those who believe the state Constitution requires a full up-or-down vote.
“This appointment goes to the Judiciary Committee and then to the floor, by constitutional and statutory design, and must be ruled upon in 30 days,” he said last week. “That’s the law; it is crystal clear.”
Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-Lockport) also backed Hochul’s opinion following the hearing.
“We believe this nomination is due consideration by the full Senate, where it should be considered with an open mind based on his qualifications, not politics,” he said.
Should the courts decide LaSalle deserves a full vote, LaSalle’s fate is still uncertain. Hochul would potentially have to convince enough of her fellow Dems to join with the 21-member Republican minority in order for the nomination to be approved.
LaSalle was one of seven candidates submitted to Hochul by the state’s Commission on Judicial Nomination following the sudden resignation of Janet DiFiore in July.
The state’s top court has been highly criticized in recent years as a quartet of conservative-leaning judges led by DiFiore dominated decisions from the seven-member panel.
Following the hearing, Hoylman-Sigal said that he believes the Senate “fulfilled its responsibilities pursuant to the state Constitution.”
Asked about the possibility of Hochul suing the chamber, the senator called it a “mistaken notion.”
“To have a constitutional crisis seems to be not in anyone’s interest,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) stood by her conference’s decision and said Hochul must restart the nomination process for a chief judge more in line with what Dems in the chamber want to see.
“The conference is looking for a chief judge… to create a system that works for everybody,” she said. “The conference was looking for someone who would change the trajectory of the court.”
