Senator Palumbo Raises Concerns over Chief Judge’s Pick for Top Job

      New York State Senator Anthony Palumbo (R,C-New Suffolk), ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today raised serious concerns over the nomination of Noah Mamis as top counsel to Court of Appeals Chief Justice Rowan Wilson.  

            "The news that Chief Judge Rowan Wilson intends to nominate Noah Mamis as his chief counsel is deeply concerning on many levels. Mr. Mamis, the Policy Director for the Senate Democratic Conference, was at the epicenter of efforts to malign and discredit the nomination of Judge Hector LaSalle—the first Latino to receive such a Chief Judge nomination—for pure political reasons. Mamis’ hiring will greatly diminish the ability of New York's Courts to act as an independent body. It will also infuse partisan politics into the fabric of the State's highest court and reeks of a quid pro quo deal that puts our highest court in the pocket of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

            “Just as significantly, Judge Wilson’s true partisan intent has been revealed as it is likely the Democrats’ lawsuit to strike the Senate and Congressional redistricting maps will be heard in the next few months by the Court of Appeals.  I believe the hiring of Mamis requires Chief Judge Rowan to recuse himself from any decision relative to the redistricting maps.  This is just the latest move by the Democrat leadership to control the courts and use them as a tool to promote their out-of-touch policies and strengthen their political power on both the state and national level.” 

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