Albany, NY – The New York Senate confirmed Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore as the next chief judge of the Court of Appeals, presiding at its highest court and overseeing the statewide judiciary.
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The 60-year-old DiFiore, nominated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, told lawmakers she’ll maintain independence from the governor and judge each case on its own. She also said she could fill the position’s two roles, ruling on cases and administering and advocating for a good judiciary, without conflict.
“The cases are the cases and they are absolutely inviolate,” DiFiore said. “The core mission is the speedy, fair and just resolution of cases.”
She would replace Judge Jonathan Lippman, who had to retire this year after turning 70 last year. The term is 14 years, but DiFiore under current law would have to retire after a decade.
The court often makes case law for the state in rulings that sometimes influence other state and federal courts.
DiFiore, a Democrat like Cuomo and also a former judge, was questioned by some Republican senators about gun rights, the governor’s authority to issue executive orders and the right of indigent New Yorkers to attorneys in civil cases.
She declined to comment on possible cases that she might later have to rule on. She said that she is a gun owner, with a pistol permit, and that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to bear arms.
“I understand the limitations of executive authority,” DiFiore said. “Each case will be decided on its merits.”
She said that she favors extending statewide the terms of the five-county settlement from 2014 ensuring criminal defendants have a lawyer at their first court appearance where bail is often set. She is not a judicial activist, she said.
I guess Cuomos gun control fanaticism doesn’t apply to his friends