New York Majority Leader Hohulu: We ‘Make Our Own Rules’ About LaSalle Judge Choice

Our chamber of legiality – our rules!

That was the message from State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins ​​(D-Yonkers) Tuesday in her first remarks after she was sued for blocking Gov. Cathy Hochul’s choice to lead New York’s judiciary, Judge Hector LaSalle .

“The constitution allows us to make our own rules – and our rules have been followed,” she said, when asked about the Republican-led lawsuit – and backed by Hochul – against the House’s ability to block a full vote on the governor’s nomination.

She also warned that even if a lawsuit filed last week by state senator Anthony Palumbo (R-Suffolk) wins, LaSalle will not win the approval of the Democratic-dominated state Senate.

“I have always maintained that the Constitution allows us to make our own rules, and therefore … I really do not understand [the lawsuit] because we have the right to create our own,” said Stewart-Cousins.

But Stewart-Cousins ​​did not rule out holding a general vote on LaSalle to end the ongoing standoff with the governor over the nomination, even promising Hochul “This candidate has no votes” in the 63-member legislative chamber. 42 Democrats in power.

Hochul said the state Senate Judiciary Committee, to which the Democratic Party leader added several anti-LaSalle members, effectively folding the deck, did not have the power to vote against his candidacy on January 18 to become the first Hispanic to head the state judiciary. since then, almost nothing has helped him put forward his candidacy.

Palumbo then filed a lawsuit last week, arguing that the state constitution requires the entire Senate to vote for or against her choice.

The case hinges in part on whether Palumbo can prove that his individual rights as a senator have been violated because the state constitution states that the “Senate” must vote for judicial candidates.

Some legal experts said the case could succeed, although Hochul would probably have had more rights to take legal action against the state Senate.

“He’s not just complaining that the entire Senate hasn’t been given a vote, he should be complaining that he’s being denied the right to vote,” Albany Law School professor Vincent Bonventre told The Post after Palumbo filed the lawsuit.

The Suffolk County Superior Court has set a hearing for Friday, February 17.

In recent days, Hochul has expressed tacit support for the trial, despite calls to end the standoff with her fellow Democrats by withdrawing the nomination, which would pave the way for the state selection committee to find a new round of candidates to head the Court of Appeals. .

“I have been saying all the time that it is very important for this judge to get through the Senate. And, obviously, the senator himself decided that the best thing that could happen is to bring the matter to court. So now we’ll wait and see what the courts decide,” she told The Post in Manhattan on Sunday.

“In the meantime, I’m working very hard with the legislature to get a budget that meets the needs of New Yorkers,” added Hochul, who has not ruled out joining the lawsuit in the future.

Progressive and powerful unions such as SEIU 1199 and 32BJ have turned against LaSalle for allegedly being too conservative, mostly based on several cases, for Empire State at a time when some Democrats want to push the Court of Appeal to the left.

The ongoing standoff has strained Hochul’s relationship with the political left ever since she announced his nomination in December.

“It’s going to be fucking ugly,” one source told The Post at the time.

Nearly two months later, Stuart-Cousins ​​said on Tuesday that she had not spoken to Hochul about the nomination in recent weeks, while downplaying the possibility that ongoing friction over LaSalle could impact state budget talks before the April 1 deadline.

“The staff is always talking to each other,” said Stuart-Cousins. “It’s not unusual for us that we don’t talk to each other all the time… We get along.”