Gov. Kathy Hochul's chief judge nominee grilled, then denied, at New York Senate hearing

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's nominee to helm the state's top court failed to garner the approval of a key Senate committee by one vote on Wednesday, an important step in ascending to the Court of Appeals.

Following a tense hearing where he was grilled on abortion, labor rights and the rights of criminal defendants, Justice Hector LaSalle earned the support of only nine Senate Judiciary Committee members, not enough to overcome the 10 Democratic votes against him.

Though only two members, both Democrats, voted in favor, the committee's six Republicans plus one Democrat voted in favor of his nomination as a purely procedural matter.

The next steps for LaSalle remain unclear after Judiciary Committee Chairman Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan) said at the end of the hearing that "we really have performed our constitutional duty to seek to provide advice and consent for this nominee."

That perspective will undoubtedly tee up a fight with the governor, who has said that the state Constitution requires the full Senate to vote on her nominees, regardless of how the Judiciary Committee may view them. She reiterated that view after Wednesday's vote.

"While this was a thorough hearing, it was not a fair one, because the outcome was predetermined. Several Senators stated how they were going to vote before the hearing even began — including those who were recently given seats on the newly expanded Judiciary Committee," Hochul said in a statement. "While the Committee plays a role, we believe the Constitution requires action by the full Senate."

Vincent Bonventre, a professor at Albany Law School, agreed that that state Constitution would require the full Senate to vote on LaSalle's nomination, though the issue has not been litigated before.

"I don’t know what the Senate's internal procedures are, but I do know that internal procedures are subordinate to the state Constitution and state law," he said. "I’m sure there’s going to be litigation."

Following the vote, one senator tried to make a motion to advance LaSalle's nomination to the floor, where it could be considered by the full chamber. Hoylman-Sigal abruptly adjourned the meeting.

More:Criticism of LaSalle for NY chief judge flares in Hochul's first term. What's his future?

More:Hochul taps LaSalle to lead NY courts; will he pass muster with Senate progressives?

LaSalle grilled on key Democratic priorities

LaSalle, who currently presides over the Appellate Division's Brooklyn-based department, was questioned about his views on issues important to the committee's Democratic members as several controversial decisions he has joined received intense scrutiny.

The unusual tenor of Wednesday's hearing was further underscored as Republican senators appeared to bolster his nomination while Democratic senators appeared to decry it.

"Justice, this isn’t going to be a roast, but it won’t be your Bar Mitzvah, either," Hoylman-Sigal warned at the start of the hearing.

From the get-go, Hoylman-Sigal expressed reservations about LaSalle's record, observing that "there have been serious concerns raised about the nominee's record on upholding New York's laws defending labor, reproductive choice, discrimination, immigration and protecting domestic violence victims."

Hoylman-Sigal's criticisms echoed those of many of his Democratic colleagues, who largely sought to cast LaSalle as unacceptably conservative and anti-worker. At one point, Hoylman-Sigal recalled disapprovingly that LaSalle ran for a state Supreme Court seat on the Conservative Party line, in addition to the Democratic Party and other major party lines; however, it is common practice for state Supreme Court judges to run on all available party lines in the general election.

LaSalle tried to preempt criticism of this sort in opening remarks of his own, taking the rare step of publicly avowing his personal support for abortion rights and other civil liberties.

"I, personally, strongly believe in a woman's right to make her own reproductive decisions," he said. "I do not want my daughter to have fewer rights than her mother."

Rob Rosborough, a partner at the Albany-based firm Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, called such a pronouncement "unusual" for a judicial nominee, but said it was "necessary, given how much criticism he received before the hearing."

LaSalle sought to depict the criticism of his record as short-sighted, complaining that senators and outside groups opposed to his nomination have cherry-picked certain cases that don't reflect his full record on issues of note.

"Not one person has talked about any cases where I've reduced sentences. Not one person here has discussed about cases where I've reversed convictions because of prosecutorial misconduct," he said. "You should look at the record. But I only ask that this body look at my entire record, not the record that certain advocates have chosen to look at."

What comes next for LaSalle?

In a press conference after the hearing, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) suggested that the committee's vote would be enough to scuttle LaSalle's nomination.

"It's clear that this nominee was rejected," she said. "And that's it."

When asked whether the Commission on Judicial Nomination would have to draw up a new slate of candidates for Hochul to select another nominee, Stewart-Cousins replied that, "sadly, that is the way this goes."

It is unclear whether Hochul would take the extraordinary step of bringing a lawsuit against the state Senate when her own party controls the chamber by a supermajority. Because a governor's nominee to the Court of Appeals has never been rejected by the Senate before, this issue remains a political and legal minefield.

Ahead of Wednesday's hearing, Hochul doubled down on her support for LaSalle as his prospects for clearing the Senate were increasingly uncertain.

At an event Sunday honoring the late Martin Luther King Jr., Hochul implored the public to "take another look" at LaSalle.

"Listen to the man. Don't judge him until you know and understand, open-minded... all those ways that you'd want to be treated," she said. "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. Who else wants to sit there and be judged and have their name reduced to lies?"

Asher Stockler is a reporter for The Journal News and the USA Today Network New York. You can find him on Twitter at @quasiasher or send him an email at astockler@lohud.com. Reach him securely: asher.stockler@protonmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY Senate panel denies Kathy Hochul's chief justice pick Hector LaSalle