New York Court of Appeals justice vacancy (March 2021)

New York Supreme Court
Feinman vacancy
Date: March 23, 2021
Status: Seat vacant
Nomination
Nominee: To be determined
Date: To be determined

State of New York Court of Appeals Justice Paul G. Feinman retired on March 23, 2021, to attend to health concerns.^[1] Feinman’s replacement will be Governor Andrew Cuomo’s tenth nominee to the seven-member supreme court.

Under New York law, New York Court of Appeals justices serve 14-year terms. They are appointed by the governor from a list of candidates provided by a judicial nominating commission, pending confirmation from the New York Senate.

Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the New York Supreme Court vacancy:

Appointee candidates and nominations

Ballotpedia will post information on candidates and prospective appointees as information becomes available. If you know of information that should be included here, please email us.

The selection process

See also: Judicial selection in New York

The seven justices of the New York Court of Appeals serve 14-year terms. They are appointed by the governor from a list of candidates provided by a judicial nominating commission, pending confirmation from the New York Senate.^[2]

Upon the expiration of their terms, judges must reapply for appointment and are considered alongside other applicants.^[2]

Makeup of the court

See also: State of New York Court of Appeals

Following Feinman’s retirement, the New York Supreme Court included the following members:

About the court

Founded in 1847, the New York Court of Appeals is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Janet DiFiore. In 2018, the court decided 1,316 cases.

About Justice Feinman

See also: Paul G. Feinman

Justice Feinman joined the State of New York Court of Appeals in 2017. He was appointed to the court by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). Feinman was the first openly gay judge confirmed to serve on the state’s highest court.^[3]

Before serving on the state supreme court, Feinman was a judge with the New York County Supreme Court, Civil Term in the 1st Judicial District from 2008 to 2017. He was also appointed to the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department in 2012. From 1996 to 1997 and again in 2001 to 2003, Feinman served as a judge with the New York City Civil Court. From 1997 to 2000, he served as a judge with the New York City Criminal Courts. He worked as a principal court attorney with Supreme Court Justice Angela Mazzarelli from 1989 to 1996. Feinman worked as a staff attorney with the Manhattan Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Division from 1987 to 1989. He worked as a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, Criminal Appeals Bureau in 1985.^[4]

Feinman earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in 1981. He earned a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1985.^[4]

Other state supreme court appointments in 2021

See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2021

The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2021. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.

Click here for vacancies that opened in 2020.

See also

External links

1. ↑ Court of Appeals, State of New York, “New Message from Chief Judge DiFiore – March 22, 2021,” March 22, 2021
2. ↑ ^2.02.1 American Judicature Society, “Methods of Judicial Selection: New York,” archived March 8, 2013
3. ↑ New York Times, “First Openly Gay Judge Confirmed for New York’s Highest Court,” June 21, 2017
4. ↑ ^4.04.1 New York Courts, “Hon. Paul G. Feinman,” archived October 21, 2020