New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed Judge Rowan Wilson to lead the state’s Court of Appeals – after Albany lawmakers rejected the Dem administrator’s previous choice.
If confirmed, Wilson would replace Janet DiFiore, who resigned in August, and become the first African-American magistrate to serve as chief justice of the Court of Appeals (whose job is to oversee the Empire State’s vast court system).
“Judge Wilson’s sterling record of upholding justice and fairness makes him well-suited to lead the court at this critical time,” Hochul said in a statement.
Instead, Caitlin Halligan, a former New York attorney general and partner in the Manhattan-based law firm Selendy Gay Elsberg, has been proposed for the current position held by Wilson (that of associate justice).
Both Wilson and Halligan were suggested as nominees by a New York State committee after the Albany Senate in February rejected Hochul’s initial nominee – Appellate Judge Hector LaSalle, deemed by Democrats to be too conservative. Weighing in were some of LaSalle’s past decisions deemed too restrictive on abortion rights and trade unions.
Mr. Wilson recently became known for his dissent from a Court decision (made by a 5-2 majority) that held that animals did not have the same legal rights as people.
