Hakeem Jeffries Stumps for Conservative Judge

[Kid Berwyn]

29. Big deal.

Hector LaSalle is not fit to be chief judge of New York's Court of Appeals

Opinion, Stephen Hart
January 5, 2023 Updated 15 hrs ago

Excerpt…

On abortion, when the New York City Council uncovered what appeared to be fraudulent practices by a “crisis pregnancy center,” the state attorney general launched an investigation. LaSalle intervened, hamstringing the investigation. He did not allow the AG to examine even the center’s promotional materials. His solicitude for the center suggests that he is not prepared to fully honor reproductive rights, which are now embedded in our state’s constitution.

Unions and their officials are protected by state law from lawsuits in state court stemming from their organizing activities. Our courts have consistently upheld this law. But LaSalle created a workaround. He allowed Cablevision to sue, for defamation, two officials at the union representing its workers, on the theory that they were being sued in their individual rather than union-official capacity, even though the allegedly defamatory statements related to issues between the union and the corporation. This decision was not only anti-labor, but also went beyond the constitutional role of the judiciary. In effect, LaSalle changed the law of the state, something only the Legislature is entitled to do.

Due process for defendants in criminal cases is also vulnerable under LaSalle’s decision-making. Our state, to its credit, has stringent rules about self-incrimination, probable cause for arrests, conditions attached to plea bargains, and many other subjects. Due process is not a technicality, but a guardian of liberty, protecting every one of us against unjust arrest or conviction. LaSalle, perhaps because his career has mostly been as a prosecutor, has shown himself willing to apply due process rules very loosely, giving police and prosecutors slack to which they are not entitled, and do not get from most New York judges.

LaSalle is not a middle-of-the-road judge, let alone a champion for New York’s values. He is not the right person to head our highest court. The State Senate should refuse to confirm him, after which the governor should nominate someone better.

Source:

https://www.salamancapress.com/news/state/another-voice-hector-lasalle-is-not-fit-to-be-chief-judge-of-new-yorks-court/article_9465c01f-7441-52ef-b5ea-bcd3022a8be0.html

Stephen Hart, Ph.D., is adjunct associate professor of sociology at the University at Buffalo.

I’ll go with Prof. Hart on this one. Thanks for the links!