Governor Hochul: “Our courts have always been held in the highest regard… and today, with the United States Supreme Court – that was once held with high esteem – now, in my opinion, abandoning its responsibility as the defender of our constitutional rights, the role our state courts play is more important than ever.”
Hochul: “I will stand here and also reaffirm my pledge to offer the hands of partnership, friendship and understanding the common objectives we all share today is to make sure that this court system, this judiciary continues with the preeminence that has always been associated with the State of New York.”
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul delivered remarks at the New York State Court of Appeals 2024 State of the Judiciary.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available here.
PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
This is indeed a privilege to be invited to address you on this really spectacular occasion to hear the priorities of our fairly new Chief Judge. I will note the special emphasis, maybe I'm the only one who picked up on it, but when he said brief remarks I will accommodate the Judge for sure.
But I want to congratulate Chief Judge Wilson for truly being the history making public servant that we've come to see him execute his duties with such dignity and pride of office, and I treasure our opportunities to work together. I will not go through the long list either, but also Honorable Joseph Zayas, our Chief Administrative Judge, I want to thank you for helping us rethink the possibilities with the judiciary because I want to go big. This is what we agreed on when we had our initial conversations, how we can transform the judiciary and make it more responsive to the people we're all here to serve. Also Tish James, I have to acknowledge you as well, because she’s an extraordinary leader – my partner in government, statewide government, and I want to honor you today for your incredible service and what you go through every single day, the challenges that you have to endure. And I think about the days since Benjamin Cardozo and the era of the wonderful Judith Kaye, and now Chief Judge Rowan Wilson.
Our courts have always been held in the highest regard, that goes without saying, this is New York. And today, with the United States Supreme Court – that was once held with high esteem – now, in my opinion, abandoning its responsibility as the defender of our constitutional rights, the role our state courts play is more important than ever. And I recognize that they must step into this significant judicial void.
And that's why with leaders like Chief Judge Wilson at the helm, and the judges that I've had the privilege to appoint, and those who've served with such dignity under other appointments, it's crystal clear to me that our judiciary understands the weight of that responsibility. They truly do. And I've made it a top priority to work with all of them and to strengthen our courts. And I have staunchly defended the independence of our courts and vetoed legislation that in my view would have interfered with the courts’ self-governance and I will continue to do that.
I have appointed over 70 judges: extraordinary individuals to the Court of Appeals, the Appellate Divisions, Supreme Courts, the Court of Claims, Family Court, and I'm really proud of the diversity working with my team here, these individuals who understand that we need to have judges who've lived the same life experiences and look the way the people that come before them do. It adds credibility to our esteemed judiciary. Many judges, African American, Latinx, Asian American, Native American, LGBTQ, first male-transgender judge in the country, and our state's first little person on the Court of Claims. We are making sure that everyone feels that they are welcome to serve on our bench.
I've also added, understanding the huge backlogs, I've added 40 new positions across the state to address the backlogs, to make the lives of people who come before the court seeking justice a little bit easier. And I've worked with OCA to reduce the backlogs because people deserve speedy access.
And also, I want to reimagine our Family Courts, and this is something we talked about – such an important role that they play, but they have not been properly funded, staffed, organized, there's so much more we can do listening to the voices of so many who bring their ideas forward. And I want to make sure, because they often serve the most underrepresented New Yorkers.
I've also worked to elevate the stature of the courts, and by the way, make sure judges are properly compensated once and for all. So we're going to continue to improve this system and I know on this great partnership we have here with these two individuals I will stand here and also reaffirm my pledge to offer the hands of partnership, friendship and understanding the common objectives we all share today is to make sure that this court system, this judiciary continues with the preeminence that has always been associated with the State of New York. So thank you for what you've done. I look forward to hearing your priorities and making sure that they are implemented.
Thank you very much.