Hochul nominates Judge Hector LaSalle to lead New York’s top court, rankling progressives

ALBANY — Gov. Hochul on Thursday nominated Judge Hector LaSalle to serve as the next chief judge of the state’s highest court, rankling progressives who vowed to fight the appointment on the ground that LaSalle is too conservative.

If approved by the Democrat-led Senate, LaSalle would be the first Latino to lead the Court of Appeals and serve as head administrator for the sprawling statewide court system.

LaSalle is a Long Island native and former prosecutor who is currently the presiding justice of the state’s 2nd Appellate Division, which handles appeals from state courts in Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island.

The governor cast LaSalle as a “consensus-builder.”

“New York’s Court of Appeals has a long history as a beacon of justice, and Judge LaSalle is an outstanding jurist in that tradition,” Hochul said in a statement. “He has the skills, experience, and intellect to ensure that our highest court is seen as a leader across the country.

“Judge LaSalle has a sterling reputation as a consensus-builder, and I know he can unite the court in service of justice,” she added.

The nomination, however, drew immediate pushback from progressive lawmakers, unions and advocates who hoped Hochul would pick someone with a less conservative background to lead the judiciary.

Criticism swelled in recent weeks as labor groups, law professors and criminal justice advocates urged the governor to choose someone other than LaSalle, arguing his past rulings on anti-abortion organizations and allowing a large corporation to sue labor union leaders made him unfit for the position.

Several left-leaning senators immediately vowed to oppose his appointment.

“Today (Gov. Hochul) had the opportunity to nominate a Chief Judge that prioritizes the needs of vulnerable New Yorkers,” senator-elect Kristen Gonzalez tweeted. “Instead she chose one of the most conservative justices on the appellate bench. I hope my colleagues join me in voting NO on Hector Lasalle.”

The soon-to-be lawmaker from Queens was joined by Sen. Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn), who said she would be a “hard no” on LaSalle.

The Senate has 30 days to vote on Hochul’s choice. Senators return to Albany for the start of the legislative session on Jan. 4.

LaSalle said he was humbled by the nomination.

“I am committed to leading the Court with integrity and fairness, upholding justice, and protecting the rights of New Yorkers,” he said.

He said that, if confirmed to the 14 year post, he plans to appoint Judge Edwina Richardson-Mendelson to serve as chief administrative judge, responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the state’s court system.

Before becoming a judge, LaSalle did two stints as a prosecutor with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and was an assistant attorney general assigned to the medical malpractice section of the claims bureau with the state attorney general’s office.

He was elected as a State Supreme Court justice in 2008 and appointed to the 2nd Appellate Division in 2014. He became the presiding judge of the division last year.

New York State Bar Association president Sherry Levin Wallach applauded LaSalle’s nomination.

“He has a great deal of experience on both the trial and appellate bench and has granular knowledge of both the adjudicative and administrative aspects of the job of chief judge,” Wallach said.

LaSalle was one of seven candidates submitted to Hochul by the state’s Commission on Judicial Nomination following the sudden resignation of former Chief Judge Janet DiFiore in July.

DiFiore stepped down under a cloud of controversy amid a state ethics probe into whether she wrongly interfered in a disciplinary hearing of the president of the state’s court officers association.

She also faced criticism from progressives over steering the state’s top court to the right in recent years, leading a four-member bloc of conservative jurists that swayed the balance on the seven-member panel.

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) vowed host a “fair and thorough hearing” on LaSalle’s nomination.

Labor leaders slammed LaSalle’s nomination, citing a 2015 opinion on state law barring corporations from suing unions or union leaders in their official capacity, which say went against labor’s interests. The ruling came in a case involving the Communication Workers of America.

“It is deeply harmful that Gov. Hochul would undermine her own state’s laws by putting an opponent of workers’ rights on the state’s highest court, and CWA strongly urges the Senate to reject his nomination,” CWA District 1 vice president Dennis Trainor said in a statement.