Rowan Wilson confirmed as chief judge of NY's top court. What's his background?

Rowan Wilson was confirmed as the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals late Tuesday after the state Senate voted to approve his nomination to the center seat, marking the first time a Black jurist has held that role.

In ascending from his current position as associate judge on the Court of Appeals, Wilson will take the seat left vacant by former Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, who abruptly resigned from the court last summer. Wilson was confirmed on a party line vote of 40-19.

Tuesday's confirmation partially resolves an unusually tense stand-off between Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and a Senate body that is supermajority-controlled by members of her own party. Hochul's first nominee, appellate judge Hector LaSalle, received a cold reception by the Senate's more progressive members.

Why the opposition to LaSalle?

After interest groups campaigned heavily against LaSalle's nomination, leveling somewhat dubious criticisms against his record on abortion and labor rights, the opposition became politically insurmountable. However, Hochul stood firm and insisted that her nominee be given a fair hearing.

Ultimately, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted down LaSalle's nomination and later had to be sued by a prominent Republican before allowing the full Senate floor to, once more, reject him.

The intra-party warfare left many wondering how Hochul would proceed at the second go-around. Choosing Wilson, a committed liberal who has become known for his impassioned dissents, was seen as a concession to the progressives and an apparent attempt to avoid the same flame-out that occurred with LaSalle.

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What's Wilson's background?

Wilson was finally sent to the high court in 2017 after having been passed over several times by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Prior to his selection, he was a partner at the elite law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

One noted decision from a high-profile case in 2022 sheds some light on his jurisprudence and flair for staking out important moral stances. In a dissenting opinion, Wilson wrote that an elephant named Happy who was on display at the Bronx Zoo should be afforded the chance to challenge her confinement.

In doing so, he wrote that the writ of habeas corpus, traditionally used by humans to challenge unjust confinement, should be available to the elephant, stretching common notions of fairness and legal equity.

"Because the law reflects our society’s values, the law inevitably changes as those values change," he wrote.

What's next for the Court of Appeals?

Shifting Wilson from one seat on the bench to another does not solve the problem of a six-member court.

Hochul must yet fill another vacancy − the seat left open by Wilson's switch − and she chose former New York Solicitor General Caitlin Halligan for the role. Halligan faced tough questions in a Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, and given her complex record on a host of issues important to Senate Democrats, her expected nomination may not be as expeditious as Wilson's.

Hochul was only able to select Halligan because of legislation she recently signed allowing her to choose a second candidate from the same short-list she had used to nominate Wilson. Otherwise, the Commission on Judicial Nomination would have had to draw up a new list, delaying the process by several additional weeks.

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: Rowan Wilson is the new chief judge of NY's top court. Who is he?