A constitutional battle involving all three branches of New York state government is shaping up between Governor Hochul and the state senate over the appointment of the Empire State’s chief judge. 

On Wednesday, the state senate judiciary committee heard testimony from Judge Hector LaSalle — Ms. Hochul’s nominee for chief judge of New York’s highest court. Over the course of several hours, Judge LaSalle was questioned about his past rulings on issues such as abortion and union rights that progressives view as too conservative.

Ultimately, the panel voted 10–9 against sending his nomination to the full 63-member senate. The question for Ms. Hochul is: How far is she willing to go for this nominee?

Following the judiciary committee vote, the senate majority leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, said she would not work to get Judge LaSalle’s nomination to the floor. “It’s clear the nominee was rejected and that’s it,” she said at a press conference in Albany. Ms. Stewart-Cousins said she hopes the governor will pull the nomination and restart the process in collaboration with other Democrats. 

Ms. Hochul was defiant. “While this was a thorough hearing, it was not a fair one, because the outcome was predetermined,” she said in a statement. “We believe the constitution requires action by the full Senate.”

The New York County Lawyers Association released a statement criticizing the actions of the senate Democrats. “The New York Constitution requires that the state Senate — not a committee of the Senate — accept or reject a Court of Appeals nominee within 30 days,” the statement reads. It further states that Democrats’ denial of Judge LaSalle “undermines” democracy, the law, and the New York constitution. 

The president of the NYCLA, Vince Chang, told the Sun that the senate must meet its constitutional responsibilities. “They’ve made an erroneous decision here, and they should have let it go through,” he said in a phone interview. “The language of the state constitution is clear. There needs to be a full vote.”

Mr. Chang said the lawsuit — should Ms. Hochul decide to go forward — would likely be filed in an Albany trial court before eventually making its way to the New York court of appeals, the same court Judge LaSalle aims to join. 

Mr. Chang also said that the most analogous scenario to Judge LaSalle’s was the nomination of Judge Jenny Rivera, who serves as an associate justice of the Court of Appeals. Judge Rivera was sent through the committee “without recommendation,” meaning the judiciary committee did not recommend her confirmation, but still allowed the full senate to vote on her nomination. 

Seven of the nine senators who voted to send Judge LaSalle’s nomination to the floor voted without recommendation. 

Ms. Hochul and her allies make the claim that Judge LaSalle deserves this position, in part, because it would be “historic.” Judge LaSalle would be the first Latino to serve as chief judge. 

Senator Kristen Gonzalez — who, at age 27, has taken the lead on opposing Judge LaSalle’s nomination and who herself is Latina — said that the fight against Judge LaSalle is about his record, not his ethnicity. “Hector LaSalle is not being judged on his character or his identity, but on his judicial philosophy,” Ms Gonzalez said in a tweet. “A philosophy that would solidify the conservative bloc on the Court of Appeals until 2030.”

For the last year, New York’s highest court has played a pivotal role in national politics. In 2022, the court threw out an extreme congressional gerrymander adopted by Ms. Hochul and the legislature. It would have given Democrats an advantage in 22 of the state’s 26 congressional districts. 

The court of appeals stepped in, saying the gerrymander went too far in favoring Democrats and was therefore unconstitutional. The court appointed a special master to redraw the maps. The GOP now controls 11 of the 26 House seats. 

Considering the Republicans only have a four-seat majority in the House, the case can be made that the decision by the New York court of appeals directly resulted in Speaker McCarthy taking the gavel. 

Scenarios like that are what progressives would like to avoid. Progressives want a reliably liberal judge leading their state’s highest court, not someone who is more independent-minded.