Governor Kathy Hochul is standing firmly behind her controversial pick to lead New York’s top court, centrist-Judge Hector LaSalle, saying on Friday he has a record that “supports fairness and justice” and she expects him to be confirmed through a vote on the state Senate floor.
But state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said that, given the significant opposition to LaSalle, he’s not likely to get confirmed.
Since Hochul nominated LaSalle to be the state Court of Appeals’ next chief judge late last year, her choice has gotten intense pushback from progressive lawmakers, some labor unions — including the influential 32BJ SEIU — and criminal justice reform advocates. They argue a few of the past decisions he signed onto, in his current role, as presiding justice of the state Supreme Court’s Second Department, show he’d be opposed to abortion access, labor rights and due process.