Manhattan Dems have gone behind closed doors to pick judges
The New York Daily News by Julia Zanthos - March 11, 2012
Highly-qualified candidate excluded from surrogate race
As Manhattan Democratic boss, Assemblyman Keith Wright has damaged the judicial screening process. Assemblyman Keith Wright, Manhattan’s Democratic county leader, has meddled with the process of choosing judges since taking over in 2009. Before Wright, screening panelists’ names were made public in advance. He has kept those identities under wraps — hiding them or putting them out belatedly, on illegible lists. Worse, Wright’s screening panel just reported out only two candidates for an open surrogate judgeship — the most lucrative judicial plum there is — approving a pair of Civil Court judges. The panel could have named three. Left off: The highly qualified John Reddy. As counsel to the public administrator, Reddy is one the top trust and estates lawyers around, and was deemed most highly qualified for surrogate four years ago. What changed? Wright’s panel. Reddy’s absence fuels suspicion that the semi-secret panel was overtly political. Judicial selection should be about public trust — not partisan spoils.
A complete overhaul of how men and woman end up being judges is long overdue. It seems that to be a judge, you have to first sell your soul to some political thug boss. How the hell did it get this bad?
ReplyDeleteThe brilliant intellectual elite that lives in Manhattan supports this way of selecting judges. "Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity." ~ Lord Acton, except in Manhattan,where the NY Times keeps everyone honest.
ReplyDeleteWould it be better to have a hand full of powerful lawyers from the elite white shoe law firms in a secret meeting to pick the next Judges and of course some of them would be the very wifes of some of them. It all works out because it would cost less to have their wifes as Judges, so it's a win, win all around.
ReplyDeleteThe entire system. From top to bottom. Is being organized. Someone planted in each entity. To make certain. That there is cover up of corruption and that there is no justice..here in NY.
ReplyDeleteWonder what the cost of a Judgeship is going for these days?
ReplyDelete