GOP files suit to force Albany vote on Hector LaSalle
A state Senate Republican is suing Democratic colleagues to force a vote on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s nomination of centrist Judge Hector LaSalle to be chief judge of New York.
“The entire 63-member Senate must be given the opportunity to vote on Justice LaSalle’s nomination. Consequently, Plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment that the Senate be required to bring Justice LaSalle’s nomination to the floor for a vote,” reads the suit filed Thursday in Long Island’s Suffolk County.
State Sen. Anthony Palumbo says that on Jan. 18 the Judiciary Committee voted 10-9 against sending LaSalle’s nomination to the full Senate for a vote – which they don’t have the authority to do, according to the lawsuit.
The suit names state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins as a defendant as well as Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee who rejected LaSalle following a fierce lobbying campaign from organized labor and progressive activists.
“The New York State Constitution is clear, Judicial nominations must be considered before the full State Senate. As such, the Judiciary Committee, no matter its size, serves only as an advisory body, providing ‘advice and consent’ to the entire Senate Membership,” Palumbo said in a statement.
A state Senate GOP spokesperson said the lawsuit was not coordinated with Hochul.
“Justice LaSalle is entitled to an up or down vote by the full State Senate, not as a courtesy, but because the Constitution requires it.”
Mike Murphy, a spokesman for Stewart-Cousins, dismissed the merits of the lawsuit brought by Palumbo.
“We have not been served regarding any lawsuit. It is embarrassing but not surprising that the Senate Republicans have no basic understanding of law or the constitution,” he said early Thursday afternoon.
Action by GOP legislators potentially spares Hochul the trouble of filing a suit of her own following weeks of uncertainty about her next move on the nomination, which she, too, says must come before the full Senate.
“Senate Democrats should not be allowed to circumvent Constitutional processes for political purposes. As public officials, it is our responsibility to uphold the principles of our State’s Constitution,” state Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt (R-Lockport) told The Post. “I thank Senator Palumbo for his action and look forward to the Court’s decision.”
A Hochul spokesperson cited a longtime practice of not commenting on pending litigation.
The move will likely cause more discord between the governor and the Democratic State Senate Majority after weeks of strained relations, which political experts say might be the point from the GOP perspective.
“The Senate Republicans have every interest in sowing chaos and dysfunction,” an Albany insider said.
Legal experts have suggested the courts might look favorably on the argument that the nomination must go before the full Senate.
But proving standing could be tricky for Palumbo considering the ambiguity of the case law on such matter, according to Albany Law School Professor Vincent Bonventre.
“The argument in favor of standing is not terribly complicated,” Bonventre, who has argued the state Constitution requires a floor vote on LaSalle, told The Post Thursday. “He’s not just complaining the entire senate did not get to vote, he has to complain about his own right to vote being denied.”
A Suffolk County judge formally accepted the lawsuit by Thursday afternoon and agreed to expedite the case. A court hearing on the matter could happen as soon as Feb 17
Hochul nominated LaSalle – a Suffolk County native with Puerto Rican parents who currently serves as a Brooklyn appellate judge – in part to boost representation on the state’s highest court by making him the first Latino to ever lead the state’s byzantine court system.
But that ambition turned into a political nightmare soon after she announced her pick on Dec. 22 from seven candidates screened by a state panel.
Her critics have pointed to a number of missteps and lost opportunities ever since.
Lefty legislators and unions made it clear that they would oppose LaSalle as soon as his name came up as a possible replacement for ex-Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, who resigned last summer under a cloud of scandal.
But Hochul picked LaSalle anyways as she began pivoting towards the political center following her close-than-expected win in the gubernatorial election last November.
She signed a legislative pay raise into law on New Year’s Eve without leveraging it to win over enough Democrats to avoid needing GOP votes to confirm LaSalle.
While mobilizing political heavy hitters like U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to press for LaSalle’s confirmation, Hochul failed to get a single Democrat to announce their unfettered support for the nomination beyond three who showed their support early on.
And the embattled governor chose to do nothing for weeks after the committee rejected LaSalle while insisting that he might somehow get confirmed.
Even if Palumbo prevails in the lawsuit in getting a floor vote for LaSalle, he appears unlikely to win confirmation with a majority vote in the 63-member chamber considering her increasingly icy relations with the 42-member Democratic supermajority.
A lawsuit led by Republicans could similarly make her look weak, according to Melissa DeRosa, a political consultant and the former top aide to ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“If anyone was going to take the lead to protect constitutional authority, it should have been Hochul, but this is more of the same from the gang that can’t shoot straight. The Republicans acting decisively only underscores her dithering and weakness,” DeRosa said. “Regardless of who wins in court, the one person who loses is Hochul.”
