Governor Hochul says she’s looking for the “best candidate” for New York’s new chief judge. In actuality, she will use the choice to help cement Albany Democrats’ one-party rule. The chief judge is a key part of it. It was a ruling of the outgoing chief judge, Janet DiFiore, against the Democrats’ gerrymandering that cost the Democrats control of the House. Don’t expect Ms. Hochul to name another independent-minded jurist to the bench. 

That Ms. Hochul is making this choice at all, of course, is a reminder of Congressman Lee Zeldin’s attempt to break the Democrats’ iron grip over New York state politics in his heroic race for governor. His defeat means Democrats will have full control of the selection of the new chief judge. Though he lost, his coattails helped flip seats in the legislature and helped the GOP gain seven seats in the House. 

That calculation, from our Ira Stoll, is based on the fact that New York’s Democrats sought to impose a gerrymandered voting map for Congressional districts in the state that would have left the Republicans with likely wins in only four districts. That map was challenged by the GOP in the state courts, where it was found to violate the state Constitution. A neutral map-maker was appointed. Under the fair maps, Republicans won 11 seats.

Judge DiFiore’s decision overturning the rigged map offered a ringing defense of the state constitution and the spirit of fair play. She noted that the parchment had been amended in 2014 to bar “certain undemocratic practices such as partisan and racial gerrymandering.” Yet Albany Democrats, Ms. Hochul included, drew the voting map in a partisan and “nontransparent manner,” Judge DiFiore said, as if the amendment had “never been passed.”

Judge DiFiore minced no words in her ruling, calling Ms. Hochul’s map machinations “a gross and deliberate violation of the plain intent of the Constitution and a disregard of its spirit.” Mark, too,  that the final ruling striking down the gerrymandered map emerged from the state’s top court by a single vote. Four judges backed an honest interpretation of the state parchment, while three dissenters put party over principle. 

After the decision was handed down, though, Judge DiFiore said she was stepping down from the bench. Press reports noted that she faced a state ethics probe at the time, with “little mention,” the New York Post observed, that it was “instigated” by a court employees’ union boss, Dennis Quirk, “who plainly objects to how she did her duty overseeing the state court system.” The Post saw it as “a campaign to smear her and her judicial legacy.”

Under Judge DiFiore, City & State reports, “the court established a pattern of leaning conservative” — and the gerrymandering ruling “angered Democrats.” When she announced her departure, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, a contender to lead the House Democratic caucus, shockingly summed up the view of many in his party: “Good riddance.” Now, Albany Democrats will be able to shift the state’s top court even further to the left.

Ms. Hochul frames her choice as a high-minded quest. “Our Court of Appeals,” she writes in today’s Daily News, “has always been a crown jewel of justice.” That’s a thigh-slapper. She points to past eras like “Benjamin N. Cardozo’s tenure as chief judge in the early 1900s,” when “the court was renowned for its persuasive and thoughtful decisions.” Yet she seeks a judge to unite the court so “it speaks in a strong and respected voice.” As if it’s a choir.

Pointing to Supreme Court rulings on abortion and the Second Amendment, she says she expects her pick to “defend against this Supreme Court’s rapid retreat from precedent.” She sees the new chief judge as “a leader who will serve as a partner to me and to my colleagues in the Legislature,” Ms. Hochul says, “so that the three branches of government can work together.” In other words, a compliant rubber stamp for their far-left agenda.