September 17, 2009

STATE BAR ASSOCIATION ENDORSES COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL NOMINATION PROPOSAL TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY IN THE SELECTION OF COURT OF APPEALS JUDGES

President Getnick, in Letter to Commission Chair Kaye, Applauds Commitment to Selecting the Highest Quality Jurists and Maintaining Judicial Independence for New York’s Top Court

In a letter sent today to former Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, the chair of the New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination, New York State Bar Association President Michael E. Getnick (Getnick Livingston Atkinson and Priore, LLP of Utica and of counsel to Getnick & Getnick of New York City) strongly endorsed the Commission’s proposal to promote and to ensure diversity among the ranks of potential candidates for selection to the Court of Appeals.

“I am keenly aware of your commitment to the selection of high quality judges, and that you view diversity as an important component of the qualifications for those judges,” Getnick wrote to Judge Kaye. “The administrative steps taken under your leadership will help to ensure that the Court of Appeals remains comprised of diverse, highly qualified judges, while also preserving the judicial independence required by the state constitution.”

The proposed rule changes submitted by the Commission were reviewed by the State Bar’s Committee on Court Structure and Judicial Selection, chaired by G. Robert Witmer, Jr., Esq. of Rochester (Nixon Peabody LLP).  A report containing recommendations for the selection process was approved in June by the State Bar’s Executive Committee.

To view a full copy of President Getnick’s letter to Chief Judge Kaye, along with the State Bar’s commentary on the Commission’s proposed rules, please visit http://www.nysba.org/GetnickLettertoKaye.
 
The 76,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. Founded in 1876, State Bar programs and activities have continuously served the public and improved the justice system for more than 130 years.

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