What's happening
This bill proposes amending the New York State Constitution to replace judicial elections with an appointment system using nominating commissions.
Why it matters
Expands the use of judicial nominating commissions. The bill creates a detailed, multi-layered system of nominating commissions at district, city-wide, and statewide levels to vet and recommend judicial candidates, aiming to ensure that appointments are based on qualifications, professional aptitude, and diversity rather than on electoral politics.
Reduces the influence of partisan elections and local politics. By eliminating judicial elections and shifting to appointments, the bill seeks to minimize the impact of campaign fundraising, political endorsements, and local party machines on judicial selection, potentially leading to a judiciary perceived as more impartial and independent.
Imposes diversity and anti-nepotism requirements. The composition rules for nominating commissions are designed to ensure political balance, bar membership diversity, and demographic representation, while also prohibiting sitting members from holding political office or seeking judgeships themselves during or shortly after their commission service.
Alters accountability and transparency. While removing direct electoral control from voters, the bill mandates transparency in the nominating process through written reports and Senate confirmation, shifting accountability from the ballot box to public institutional oversight and legislative checks.
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Who cares
Judges and judicial candidates
The proposed constitutional amendment would replace elections for specified courts with commission-screened appointments while allowing sitting judges to finish their terms.
Governor and State Senate
The governor would appoint judges from commission-recommended candidates, subject to Senate confirmation, and designate Appellate Division justices from recommended candidates.
New York City mayor and county chief elected officials
They would nominate candidates for specified local judicial vacancies and appoint regional members to judicial nominating commissions.
New York State Bar Association and court leadership
The association’s president, the chief judge and Appellate Division presiding justices would receive roles in appointing members of the judicial nominating commissions.
Headline styles
Change How Judges Are Picked
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Assembly Member · Assembly District 44
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Opinion referred to judiciary
- To attorney-general for opinion
- Referred to judiciary
- Opinion referred to judiciary
- To attorney-general for opinion
- Referred to judiciary
Full text
6 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3103
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL, GOTTFRIED, PAULIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing amendments to article 6 of the constitution, in relation to the manner of selecting judges and justices of the unified court system, and to repeal section 21 of article 6 thereof relating thereto
Section 1. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That subdivision c of section 4 of article 6 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
c. The governor shall designate the presiding justice of each appellate division, who shall act as such during his or her term of office and shall be a resident of the department. The other justices of the appellate divisions shall be designated by the governor, from all the justices [elected to] of the supreme court, other than those serving by interim appointment pursuant to section twenty-one of this article for terms of five years or the unexpired portions of their respective terms of office, if less than five years.
§ 2. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That subdivisions b and c of section 6 of article 6 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
b. Once every ten years the legislature may increase or decrease the number of judicial districts or alter the composition of judicial districts and thereupon re-apportion the justices to be thereafter [elected] selected in the judicial districts so altered. Each judicial district shall be bounded by county lines.
c. [The justices of the supreme court shall be chosen by the electors of the judicial district in which they are to serve.] The terms of justices of the supreme court shall be fourteen years [from and including the first day of January next after their election].
§ 3. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That section 9 of article 6 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD89016-01-9
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§ 9. The court of claims is continued. It shall consist of the eight judges now authorized by law, but the legislature may increase such number and may reduce such number to six or seven. The terms of the judges shall be [appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate and their terms of office shall be] nine years. The court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine claims against the state or by the state against the claimant or between conflicting claimants as the legislature may provide.
§ 4. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That subdivisions a and b of section 10 of article 6 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
a. The county court is continued in each county outside the city of New York. There shall be at least one judge of the county court in each county and such number of additional judges in each county as may be provided by law. The judges shall be residents of the county [and shall be chosen by the electors of the county].
b. The terms of the judges of the county court shall be ten years [from and including the first day of January next after their election].
§ 5. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That subdivisions b and c of section 12 of article 6 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
b. The judges of the surrogate's court shall be residents of the county [and shall be chosen by the electors of the county].
c. The terms of the judges of the surrogate's court in the city of New York shall be fourteen years, and in other counties ten years[, from and including the first day of January next after their election].
§ 6. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That subdivision a of section 13 of article 6 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
a. The family court of the state of New York is hereby established. It shall consist of at least one judge in each county outside the city of New York and such number of additional judges for such counties as may be provided by law. Within the city of New York it shall consist of such number of judges as may be provided by law. The judges of the family court within the city of New York shall be residents of such city and [shall be appointed by the mayor of the city of New York for terms of ten years. The] the judges of the family court outside the city of New York[,] shall be [chosen by the electors of the counties wherein they reside for] residents of the county. The terms of judges of the family court shall be ten years.
§ 7. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That subdivision a of section 15 of article 6 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
a. The legislature shall by law establish a single court of city-wide civil jurisdiction and a single court of city-wide criminal jurisdiction in and for the city of New York and the legislature may, upon the request of the mayor and the local legislative body of the city of New York, merge the two courts into one city-wide court of both civil and criminal jurisdiction. The said city-wide courts shall consist of such number of judges as may be provided by law. The judges of the court of city-wide civil jurisdiction and of the court of city-wide criminal jurisdiction shall be residents of such city [and shall be chosen for] and their terms [of] shall be ten years [by the electors of the counties included within the city of New York from districts within such counties established by law. The judges of the court of city-wide criminal jurisdiction shall be residents of such city and shall be appointed for terms of ten years by the mayor of the city of New York].
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§ 8. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That subdivision h of section 16 of article 6 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
h. The judges shall be residents of the district and [shall be chosen by the electors of the district. Their] their terms shall be six years [from and including the first day of January next after their election].
§ 9. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That the opening paragraph of subdivision b of section 20 of article 6 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
A judge of the court of appeals, justice of the supreme court, judge of the court of claims, judge of a county court, judge of the surrogate's court, judge of the family court or judge of a court for the city of New York established pursuant to section fifteen of this article [who is elected or appointed after the effective date of this article] may not:
§ 10. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That section 21 of article 6 of the constitution be REPEALED and a new section 21 be added to read as follows:
§ 21. a. There shall be a judicial nominating commission for each judicial district outside the city of New York to evaluate the qualifications of candidates for appointment in such district to the offices of judge or justice of the supreme court, the county court, the family court, the surrogate's court, and, in each district in which the district court has been established, the district court. There shall be one city-wide judicial nominating commission to evaluate the qualifications of candidates for appointment in the city of New York to the offices of judge or justice of the supreme court, the family court, the surrogate's court, and the city-wide court or courts for such city established pursuant to section fifteen of this article. There shall be one statewide judicial nominating commission to evaluate the qualifications of candidates for appointment to the office of judge of the court of claims, and for designation to the offices of presiding justice and justice of the appellate division.
b. (1) Each such commission shall consist of thirteen at-large members of whom four shall be appointed by the governor, three by the chief judge of the court of appeals, one each by the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of the assembly, and one by the president of the New York state bar association. The chief administrator of the courts shall be a member of the statewide judicial nominating commission. Each commission, other than a statewide judicial nominating commission, also shall include one at-large member appointed by the presiding justice of the appellate division of the department in which the district is located and two regional members from each county in the district appointed by the chief elected official of the county, except that there shall be four regional members appointed from each county in the city of New York, two of whom shall be appointed by the chief elected official of such county and two of whom shall be appointed by the mayor of such city. Regional members shall serve only when the vacant office is to be filled by a resident of their county. To the extent practicable, the members of each commission shall reflect diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, geography and, among those who are also members of the bar, various practice areas and size of practice.
(2) Of the four members of each commission appointed by the governor, not more than two shall be enrolled in the same political party and at least two shall not be members of the bar of the state. Of the three
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members appointed by the chief judge of the court of appeals, not more than two shall be members of the bar of the state. The member appointed by the presiding justice of the appellate division shall be a member of the bar of the state. The two regional members from each county outside the city of New York shall not be enrolled in the same political party and one shall not be a member of the bar of the state. The two regional members from each county in the city of New York appointed by the chief elected official of each such county shall not be enrolled in the same political party and one shall not be a member of the bar of the state, and the two regional members from each county in the city of New York appointed by the mayor of such city shall not be enrolled in the same political party and one shall not be a member of the bar of the state. Except for the chief administrator of the courts, no at-large or regional member of any commission shall hold or have held any judicial office or hold any elected public office for which he or she receives compensation during his or her period of service, except that the governor and chief judge may each appoint no more than one former judge or justice of the unified court system to each commission. No at-large or regional member of any commission shall hold office in any political party, and, except for the chief administrator of the courts, no member shall be eligible for appointment to judicial office in any court of the state during the member's period of service or within one year thereafter.
(3) The members of each commission first appointed by the governor shall have, respectively, one, two, three and four year terms as he or she shall designate. The members first appointed by the chief judge of the court of appeals shall have, respectively, two, three and four year terms as he or she shall designate. The member first appointed by the temporary president of the senate shall have a four year term. The member first appointed by the speaker of the assembly shall have a three year term. The member first appointed by the minority leader of the senate shall have a two year term. The member first appointed by the minority leader of the assembly shall have a one year term. The members first appointed by the presiding justice of the appellate division and the president of the New York state bar association shall have four year terms. The regional members first appointed from each county outside the city of New York shall have, respectively, two and four year terms as the person appointing them shall designate. The two regional members appointed from each county within the city of New York by the chief elected official of each county shall have, respectively, one and three year terms as the person appointing them shall designate and the two regional members appointed from each county within the city of New York by the mayor of such city shall have, respectively, two and four year terms as the mayor shall designate. Each subsequent appointment shall be for a term of four years.
(4) The governor shall designate a chairperson for each commission from among its at-large members.
(5) Each at-large member of each commission shall be a resident of, have an office in or work in the judicial district in which he or she is to serve, except that each at-large member of the city-wide commission for the city of New York shall be a resident of, have an office in or work in such city and each at-large member of the statewide commission shall be a resident of the state.
c. (1) The statewide judicial nominating commission shall consider the qualifications of all candidates for appointment to the office of judge of the court of claims, and for designation to the offices of presiding
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