Governor Hochul Nominates Rowan Wilson as Chief Judge

Dan Clark: In the middle of all of this, we got another major bit of news this week out of Albany. Governor Hochul has nominated Rowan Wilson to be the next Chief Judge of New York State. It's her second nomination for that job this year after the state Senate rejected her first nominee Hector LaSalle.

It is a big job. The chief judge of New York runs the entire judicial branch of state government and leads the state's top court, the Court of Appeals. Wilson, Hochul’s new nominee, is already a judge on the Court of Appeals and of the court's current roster he's considered one of the more liberal members He's often sided with defendants over prosecutors, and he's known for his blunt questions during arguments and the way he writes his opinions, like in this case from 2019, when police found counterfeit money on someone under arrest for drinking in public.

Rowan Wilson: If he were trying not to pass counterfeit money, but you possessed it, how would you keep it? Would you mix it with your regular money?

Prosecutor: No. No, you wouldn't, your Honor, but…

RW: So why is there any probity value to the fact that he separated it, if what we're trying to determine is, does he have an intent to spend it? 

Prosecutor: Correct.

RW: And whether he intends to spend it or he doesn't intend to spend it, he's going to keep it separately. Why can we draw any inference from the fact he kept it separately?

DC: In that case, the court upheld the conviction, siding with prosecutors. Judge Wilson was the only one to dissent, writing at the time that, “The sad consequence of that mistake is a regression from the legislative and prosecutorial progress eschewing policing based on stereotypes, returning us to the world of broken windows – where police pursue quality of life violations that disproportionately affect the poor.”

It's legal opinions like those and Wilson's experience that have Democrats feeling optimistic. Senate Judiciary Chair Brad Hoylman-Sigal.

Brad Hoylman-Sigal: Well, we've confirmed Judge Wilson once already. I think he's obviously a strong candidate, based on that alone, we're going to review his record closely. But he's got a long record both on the court and in the private sector as a partner at one of New York's largest law firms. So, I think it is obviously a decision my colleagues and I are going to have to review closely, but out of the gate, I'm impressed by the selection.

DC: We're expecting a hearing on Wilson's nomination next week, but that news came with more news.

This week after the nomination was announced on Tuesday, Democrats said they want to overhaul the entire judicial selection process for the state's highest court. Right now, a special commission puts out a call for applications whenever a seat opens up. Then they narrow that down to seven finalists and the governor has to pick someone from that shortlist, but Democrats say they want to end that process and instead let the governor pick whoever they want. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said this.

Dan Clark: Just to clarify, you're saying that the Senate's position is that you would like to eliminate the committee for judicial nomination? 

Andrea Stewart-Cousins: Yes, absolutely. 

DC: And would you like to replace that with anything or do you want to see that just…

ASC: No, I’d like the executive to be able to name whomever their nominees are, and again, we put them through our process.