Hector LaSalle, Gov. Hochul's choice for chief judge, rejected by NY Senate

Democratic senators on Wednesday shot down the judge Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul named to lead New York's highest court in a vote that the majority party reluctantly held after being sued.

In a largely party-line vote of 20-39 after two hours of speeches, the Senate rejected Hochul's choice of Hector LaSalle as chief judge of the Court of Appeals. The unexpected vote took place a month after a committee had squelched the nomination and two days before court arguments in a case about whether the state constitution required a full Senate vote.

The decision closed — for the second time — LaSalle's path to head the seven-member court, which has had no permanent chief judge since Janet DiFiore's resignation on Aug. 31. Hochul chose LaSalle, the presiding justice of the Appellate Division court in Brooklyn, in December from a list of seven recommended candidates, but ran into opposition from progressives in her party who criticized some of his rulings as too conservative.

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She must now submit another candidate for confirmation. In a statement after Wednesday's vote, the governor applauded the Senate for voting even though she disagreed with the outcome.

"This vote is an important victory for the Constitution," Hochul said. "But it was not a vote on the merits of Justice LaSalle, who is an overwhelmingly qualified and talented jurist."

The nomination languished after the Jan. 18 committee rejection until last week, when a Republican senator from Long Island filed a lawsuit arguing that the constitution required the full Senate vote on a judicial nominee. Democratic leaders had argued that the matter ended after the committee failed to advance the nomination to the floor.

They reversed course on Wednesday, saying they stood by their position but wanted to quell a distraction.

"We are taking this matter to the floor today to resolve this crisis," Sen. Mike Gianaris, a Queens Democrat and deputy majority leader, said at the outset of the debate.

Republicans countered that the constitutional question they raised was important, not a distraction, and said Democrats were trying to save face before losing in court. They also staunchly supported LaSalle —a Democrat — to be chief judge and later voted in support of his nomination, something they didn't do in committee.

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Sen. Anthony Palumbo, the Suffolk County Republican who brought the lawsuit, praised LaSalle as a judge who "simply calls balls and strikes" and had an "impeccable record" on the bench. Other Republicans suggested Democrats were seeking a more partisan judge who would rule in their favor and "legislate from the bench," as one put it.

"They want somebody who's going to interpret the law the way they want it interpreted," said Sen. Steven Rhoads of Nassau County.

Democrats argued the overturning of abortion rights and other rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority had underscored the importance of state courts and the judicial approach of New York's chief judge. Some argued LaSalle viewed the law too narrowly in his decisions.

"We are interested in changing the status quo, senator, because the status quo isn't working for every citizen," said Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the Manhattan Democrat who leads the Senate Judiciary Committee.

He said the Senate thoroughly scrutinized the LaSalle nomination, and he lacked confidence that LaSalle was the best choice to lead the Court of Appeals at a critical time. He said the governor and Senate could find a better nominee - and needed to do so "ASAP."

"The stakes are just too damn high in Washington," he said. "There is no room for ambiguity. There is no room to make a mistake on the part of New Yorkers."

In a statement shortly before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Yonkers stood by the position that the nomination didn't require a floor vote after failing to pass in committee. She said Democrats decided to bring it to the full Senate to prevent the dispute from diverting lawmakers from budget discussions and delaying the filling of the chief judge position.

Distracting and dividing Democrats was the whole purpose of the court challenge, she suggested.

"The recent court case brought by Republican Senators proves that prolonging the LaSalle nomination — which never had the requisite votes to pass — is merely a wedge issue to distract us from other pressing matters at hand," Stewart-Cousins said. "We have a state to run."

Chris McKenna covers government and politics for the Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.