Tempest In A Chief Judge Teapot (Updated)

December 2, 2008

There's a big to do over the lack of diversity in the list of chief judge nominees sent to Gov. David Paterson by the Commission on Judicial Nomination, despite the fact that the governor appears to be legally locked in to choosing from among the seven all-male and mostly white contenders to replace Judith Kaye as head of the state's top court.

Paterson expressed his disapproval yesterday, and his comments were quickly followed by a statement from Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., who prounounced himself "incensed" and "disgusted" that Court of Appeals Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick was left off the list.

"I thought we were well past the days when women, Hispanics, Blacks, and Asians were considered less than acceptable to serve in judicial leadership capacity," Diaz said. "But the roster to replace the State’s Chief Judge - made up of nearly all white males - just does not represent the diversity of New York State’s Court of Appeals.”

"The political agendas of John O’Mara and those who are trying to back Governor Paterson into a corner are obvious," Diaz continued. "The racial undertones in this state are glaring, and the opportunities for women and Puerto Ricans and other so-called minorities are clearly not equal to the opportunities of other New Yorkers.”

Ciparick is Puerto Rican. It had been suggested that by appointing her chief judge, Paterson would be going a long way toward appeasing the so-called Gang of Three, of which two members - Diaz and Senator-elect Pedro Espada Jr. - have voiced concern about the lack of Hispanic representation in positions of power in New York.

Now, it appears that option is not available to Paterson, which shuts down one more avenue that might have helped lead to a deal to end the Senate leadership stalemate.

Lest anyone be under the mistaken impression that Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, who is desperately wooing the Gang of Three, isn't sensitive to the Hispanic plight, here's his statement on the chief judge situation:

"The lack of diversity among the recommendations by the New York State Commission on Judicial Nominations is disappointing. In the most diverse state in the country, home to the United Nations, the absence of a woman or any Latinos on the list of possibilities is inexplicable and unrepresentative of the population of New York State."

Newsday's John Riley makes an interesting point, in his Rileyish way, regarding the possibility that a bit of reverse racism might be at play here. He suggests the commission might merely have sent the governor a list of the seven nominees its members thought best qualified for the post of chief judge, regardless of their race or gender.

UPDATE: Erstwhile gang member (back when there were four) Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate, who has pledged his support for Smith, also issued a statement expressing his dismay over the lack of women and Latinos among the commission's picks. He called this phenomenon "deeply troubling.