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City Councilmember Oliver Koppell Sponsors Council Resolutions Calling for Judicial Reform
Assembly Bill 04440 ![]()
Dear Friends:
I have recently introduced three City Council Resolutions calling for the reform of judicial selection procedures. Two of these resolutions are directed at the State Legislature. The first urges the passage of Assembly Bill 04440, which establishes a system of merit selection for judgesin New York State. The second calls upon the State Legislature to pass legislation that would: a. establish a voluntary campaign finance program for all judicial candidates; b. require all judicial candidates to disclose contributions and expenditures; c. mandate the New York State Board of Elections to publish a meaningful and objective voters guide for all judicial elections. The third Resolution calls for the creation of independent and diverse judicial screening panels by New York City's designated political parties that would provide a meaningful evaluation process for the selection of judicial candidates. Although we have seen a heightened awareness recently of the need for reform of judicial selection procedures, I have long been aware of the deficiencies in the way judges are elected, and have worked to change the system since 1968. I have been a strong advocate for the merit selection of judges, as well as other reforms, because the present judicial selection system often does not result in selection of the most qualified candidates, and does not provide for informed choices by the voter's. I believe that the passage of Assembly Bill 04440 will ameliorate many of the problems associated with judicial selection by creating a system similar to the New York Court of Appeals merit selection process where an independent bi-partisan judicial nominating commission makes recommendations for judicial appointments, ensuring that members of the judiciary are both highly competent and reflect the populations that they serve. I also favor the establishment of a campaign finance reform program for judicial candidates throughout the state like the one enacted in New York City for local elections in order to reduce the influence of large contributors and special interest groups in the judicial election process. Furthermore, I believe that requiring the New York State Board of Elections to publish a meaningful and objective voters guide for judicial elections, as New York City has done since 1988 for city elections, would increase the amount of information available to voters. I am also in favor of utilizing judicial screening panels, comprised of delegates from independent associations, organizations and advocacy groups, to aid in the evaluation of judicial candidates. The Bronx County Democratic organization has initiated a judicial screening panel, which is a good first step. It is essential that we enact judicial reforms in order to select highly competent, independent judges who reflect the racial, gender, and ethnic diversity of the population, and I will continue to work towards this goal. G. Oliver Koppell |