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State's Top Judge is Shelly's L.E.S. Childhood Buddy
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 11, 2009
Modified Feb 11, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 11, 2009
Modified Feb 11, 2009
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Last month, Governor David Paterson appointed Jonathan Lippman, presiding justice of the Appellate Division in Manhattan, to be the chief judge of the Court of Appeals—the top judgeship in the state. The NY Times has an article about Lippman, with praise from most people, but notes, "his body of work as a jurist remains relatively thin, leaving some judges and legal scholars uncertain about what he will bring to the bench that has the last word on state law."
There's one quote from Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who grew up with Lippman on the Lower East Side—"He kept himself above the political scene. He dealt with Republicans and Democrats the same." Silver also says he had nothing to do with Lippman's rise, but the Village Voice devotes its cover story to the Silver-Lippman connection.
Voice reporter Wayne Barrett writes that the Speaker "has been quietly boosting... Lippman for years. Now, he's finally pushed Lippman from the series of back-office management posts where he's labored for years to the job of top gavel in the State Judiciary." The article, "Justice is Blindsided," notes many of Lippman is a "hardworking ambassador and manager of the courts for decades" but it also a "consummate political player, seemingly more interested in influence than law." Here's one excerpt:
On one hand, he described himself in a 2006 speech as "unencumbered by parochial or partisan or political agendas," and is so widely considered a champion of court reform that New York's Bar Association found him "exceptionally well qualified" for chief judge, ahead of the "well-qualified" ratings it gave long-standing Appeals judges. The Times endorsed him, and he was given the Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence in November by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Judge John Roberts.
On the other hand, he is such a skilled and connected insider that when he ran for the first and only time in 2005, he was the only candidate in the state running for Supreme Court who couldn't be voted against. Lippman was on all five ballot lines: Democratic, Republican, Working Families, Conservative, and Independent. In fact, he had refused to allow his name to be put in the nomination unless every party backed him for the seat, which is the top trial court of the unified court system.
Back in December, Paterson was upset all the top judge nominees were men. (The governor is required to choose a chief judge from the list provided by a state panel.)
Tagged
Chief Judge
governor paterson
jonathan lippman
sheldon silver
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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