New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT › Subtitle A - Governor's Office › Chapter I - Executive Orders › Part 5 - Executive Orders (George E. Pataki) › Section 5.11 - Executive order no. 11: establishing a temporary judicial screening committee to ensure that judicial officer appointees are of the highest quality

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
WHEREAS, under the Constitution and Laws of New York, the
					 Governor is entrusted with the responsibility of appointing various judicial
					 officers;
WHEREAS, by Executive Order No. 10 I have ordered that
					 Judicial Screening Committees be established to ensure that judicial officer
					 appointments are of the highest quality; and
WHEREAS, vacancies presently exist in various judicial
					 offices and it is or may become necessary or appropriate to appoint highly
					 qualified candidates to fill these vacancies, and other vacancies that may
					 hereafter arise, prior to the time the Judicial Screening Committees are fully
					 operational;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE E. PATAKI, Governor of the State
					 of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
					 Laws of the State of New York, do hereby order as follows:
1. A Temporary Judicial Screening Committee
				  is hereby established.
2. The
				  Temporary Judicial Screening Committee shall:
a. at the direction of the Governor,
				  following the Governor's determination that it is necessary or appropriate to
				  the administration of justice that a vacancy in a judicial office be filled
				  prior to the time the Judicial Screening Committees are fully operational,
				  review and evaluate the qualifications of candidates proposed to it by any
				  person or organization and conduct all appropriate inquiry into the
				  qualifications of all such candidates. In reviewing and evaluating the
				  qualifications of candidates, each member shall give primary consideration to
				  the quality of a candidate's intellect, judgment, temperament, character and
				  experience, and shall not give any consideration to the race, religion, gender,
				  national origin, sexual orientation or political affiliation of a candidate.
				  Whenever appropriate to a particular judicial office, each member shall remain
				  cognizant of my commitment to protecting the citizens of this State from crime
				  and violence and to enhancing public confidence in the criminal justice
				  system;
b. recommend for
				  appointment or designation only those candidates who, as determined by a
				  majority vote of all members of the committee, are highly qualified for the
				  judicial office for which they are being considered. The committee shall not
				  pass on the qualifications of any candidate until after a thorough inquiry has
				  been made by the committee; and c. prepare written reports on the
				  qualifications of each candidate it determines to be highly qualified and
				  recommends to the Governor. The reports shall remain confidential, except that
				  upon the announcement by the Governor of an appointment the report relating to
				  the appointee shall be made available for public inspection. All records and
				  deliberations of, and all communications to, the Temporary Judicial Screening
				  Committee with respect to a candidate's qualifications shall be held in
				  confidence and shall not be disclosed to anyone other than the Governor,
				  counsel to the Governor or their designees. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
				  information submitted to the Temporary Judicial Screening Committee relating to
				  an appointee may be disclosed to the Senate when necessary for constitutional
				  confirmation of the appointee and to the Judicial Screening Committees; in
				  addition, information submitted to the committee may be disclosed to any other
				  person or organization if disclosure is required in connection with
				  disciplinary proceedings.