In a move that underscores the influence of progressive politics over legal tradition in New York, Chief Judge Rowan Wilson has appointed actress Cynthia Nixon to play a crucial role in shaping the future of the state’s highest court.
Despite not holding any legal qualifications, Nixon’s television portrayal of a lawyer and her progressive credentials have secured her a spot on the Commission on Judicial Nomination. Here, she’ll be involved in recommending judges for the Court of Appeals.
This development signals a deepening of one-party control, further complicating governance in the state.
Wilson himself was appointed as the chief judge after lawmakers consistently pushed for a candidate who aligned with far-left ideals, rejecting others who didn’t meet this criterion.
The Senate notably dismissed Hector LaSalle, Governor Kathy Hochul’s nominee, who was highly qualified yet unwilling to promise to advance their legislative agenda without due process.
Yes, Wilson is a lawyer (unlike Nixon) and even served on the top court before becoming chief judge, but he has inappropriately campaigned for legislation (prompting an ethics complaint) and against long prison sentences.
And he’s even scolded judges for using harsh language against monstrous criminals, whose cause he’s championed.
That’s not the kind of neutrality expected of judges, let alone those on the state’s highest court.
But that it’s precisely such biases that made him so attractive to lefty lawmakers.
And now he’s tapped Nixon, who ran for gov on a far left platform in 2018, to help choose future judges on the top court.
She might not know the first thing about the state Constitution, the law in general or what makes a good jurist, but she’s earned solid cred on the far left — and that’s all that matters.
She now gets real power: Governors can only choose among the commission’s nominees in tapping new judges for the state’s top court.
The dirty games that installed Wilson as chief judge already flipped the high court into rubber-stamping gerrymandering of election districts, and now it’s likely to become even more contemptuous of the letter and even spirit of the law.
The hard left keeps making more progress in ensuring that no democratic vote can remove it from power: Pray for New York.