Given that it's New York, that state's top court receives more than average attention. So it's probably worth noting that in the next seventeen months more than half of the membership of that court could change (either due to judges hitting the mandatory retirement age of 70, or due to judges' 14-year terms expiring). Governor Pataki will name a replacement for George Bundy Smith, the court's most liberal judge and it's only African-American, later this year. And then the next governor (presumably Democrat Eliot Spitzer) will have the opportunity to replace three more members of the court (including Chief Judge Judith Kaye) shortly after taking office. It will be interesting to see what kinds of judges Spitzer appoints.
Posted by armand at June 21, 2006 09:08 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Law and the Courtswow. if spitzer names 3, you could end up with one of the more progressive courts in the country, especially on white collar crime. what a joy it would be if new york started blazing new trails in that way; everyone would have to pay attention.
Posted by: moon at June 21, 2006 09:44 AM | PERMALINK