Rowan Wilson Sworn In As Chief Judge Of Court Of Appeals
Written by on September 17, 2023
On September 12, 2023, Judge Rowan Wilson was sworn in as chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals.
As some Albany Update readers may recall, Chief Judge Wilson was nominated for his new position by Gov. Kathy Hochul and was confirmed by the New York State Senate in April 2023. Chief Judge Wilson served as an associate judge of the Court of Appeals from 2017 to 2023. He is the first African-American to serve as chief judge of New York’s highest state court.
The previous chief judge of the Court of Appeals, Janet DiFiore, stepped down in August 2022 after being accused of misconduct. For the past year, Judge Anthony Cannataro has served as acting chief judge of the court.
Gov. Hochul’s initial chief judge nominee, Presiding Justice Hector LaSalle of the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, was rejected by the Senate because Senate Democrats found him to be insufficiently leftist. Senate Democrats have expressed no such concerns about Chief Judge Wilson, who is known for authoring an opinion stating that an elephant should be allowed to ask a court to release it from the zoo. New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms opposed Judge Wilson’s elevation to the chief judgeship because of his leftist record and reputation.
At Chief Judge Wilson’s swearing-in ceremony, Gov. Hochul commented, “‘As the [United States] Supreme Court swerves down this path they’re on, and God knows where it’ll end up, taking away women’s right to choose, taking away my ability as governor to protect people from concealed guns, I needed someone that could be held in such high regard, that when he spoke, rendered decisions, represented this court and represented the state, that he speak with authority and for people to understand, “No, this is New York. We do things differently here.”’”
Now that Chief Judge Wilson has been sworn in, New York Democrats are hoping that the Court of Appeals will let them draw new congressional district maps that will benefit their party at the ballot box in 2024.
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms congratulates Chief Judge Wilson on his historic elevation. We respectfully urge the Chief Judge to fulfill his role with fairness and impartiality, and to resist the impulse to engage in left-wing judicial activism.
