An Expert Jurist, LaSalle Brings Strong Experience Building Consensus and Increasing Access to Justice
Hon. Edwina G. Richardson-Mendelson Would Serve as Chief Administrative Judge
Governor Hochul: "Today I nominated an individual, an exceptional jurist, Judge Hector LaSalle, to be the Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals is the highest court in the land, and it is a position of great authority and prestige."
Hochul: "We had a preeminent position in jurisprudence in our nation. I want to regain that exceptionalism, and I believe that Judge Hector LaSalle leading this court will achieve exactly what I'm looking for."
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul nominated the Honorable Hector D. LaSalle, Presiding Justice of New York Supreme Court's Second Department, as the next Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals. In addition, Governor Hochul announced her strong support for Judge LaSalle's intention to appoint the Honorable Edwina G. Richardson-Mendelson to serve as Chief Administrative Judge, if he is confirmed by the Senate. Governor Hochul addressed the nomination after an event in Niagara Falls today.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the event is available here.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks are available below:
I do want to announce that today I nominated an individual, an exceptional jurist, Judge Hector LaSalle, to be the Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals is the highest court in the land, and it is a position of great authority and prestige. And I wanted to make sure that I found an individual who had the experience. He presides over the largest appellate court in the nation right now, and also has the right dispositions. Someone who is collegial and collaborative, who can bring the court together, as well as managing a very large court operation.
He also has told me he would like to nominate an incredible individual, Judge Edwina Richardson-Mendelson, who is another incredible person who is going to be the operations person, the Chief Administrative Judge, who will be overseeing a $3 billion court operation. We have much work to do. These two individuals share my urgency in ensuring that our court system is functioning better. It was shut down in many ways during the pandemic, we're still seeing major backlogs.
But also, ultimately, when it comes to the decisions, the people will look upon the New York State Court of Appeals as a preeminent court where progressive values are enshrined and that the Supreme Court will look at ours with envy when we continue the reputation that has not always been what it was, but at one time, we had a preeminent position in jurisprudence in our nation. I want to regain that exceptionalism, and I believe that Judge Hector LaSalle leading this court will achieve exactly what I'm looking for. So, we're excited about that announcement as well.
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