NY Chief Judge Rowan Wilson slammed for hire of Senate Democrat staffer: ‘Reeks of a quid pro quo’By Carl Campanile and Bernadette Hogan
July 25, 2023
State Chief Judge Rowan Wilson has hired the state Senate Democratic majority’s director of policy and research as his top staffer — after Democrats rejected Gov. Kathy Hochul’s prior choice for chief judge Hector LaSalle.
Wilson selected top Senate staffer Noah Mamis for the post, who will start working for the chief judge at the Court of Appeals after Labor Day, a spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration confirmed.
Critics have raised questions about the hiring.
“It reeks of a quid pro quo,” said Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-Riverhead), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The independence of the judiciary appears to be compromised.”
For the first time in New York history, the state Senate had rejected a governor’s nomination for chief judge, Hector Lasalle, who is an associate justice for the 2nd Department in Brooklyn. Even more startling is that Hochul’s fellow Democrats put the kibosh on LaSalle.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/07/25/ny-chief-judge-rowan-wilson-slammed-for-hiring-senate-democrat-staffer/