“If we don’t see a nominee like that, there’s going to be another fight-and we’ll be better prepared.”
#Focus nassau professional
“It’s clear that there is a strong desire to have a public defender or civil rights lawyer ,” said another organizer involved with the effort, who requested anonymity due to professional involvement with the Court of Appeals. We’re expecting something very different with the next seat,” said Peter Martin, a lawyer and an organizer with the Democratic Socialists of America who lobbied senators to oppose Singas’ confirmation. “We now have half a year until another vacancy, and a whole lot of people are both fired up and aware of this issue. Progressives are already gearing up for another confirmation battle: Court of Appeals Judge Eugene Fahey will retire at the end of 2021, and his replacement will be nominated shortly thereafter. “It’s not universal, but no majority leader wants to depend on the minority for the passage or movement of anything,” said Michael Kink, a longtime progressive lobbyist in Albany.Ī spokesperson for the Nassau County DA’s office declined to comment for this story, and a Senate Democratic spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.Ī silver lining for progressive legal advocates was that the campaign raised awareness around the importance of judicial nominations and taught advocates lessons on navigating Albany politics, organizers involved with the effort said.
Had two fewer Democrats voted in favor, supporters would have been forced to rely on Republican votes to push the confirmation through-which might have led Democratic leadership to delay the vote or caused the nomination to be withdrawn. Opponents say they were closer to blocking the confirmation than those figures suggest. Yet last week, despite fierce opposition from criminal justice reform advocates and progressive senators, the chamber confirmed a tough-on-crime prosecutor to the state’s highest court-leaving progressives inside and outside the legislature mulling over their failure to block the confirmation.ĭefense attorneys and reform advocates lobbied intensely against confirming Nassau County DA Madeline Singas to a 14-year term on the Court of Appeals, arguing that her prominent opposition to recent criminal justice reforms and punitive approach to crime as DA would guarantee years of conservative rulings on criminal justice from the seven-member court.īut Singas’ opponents only managed to muster ten Democratic votes against her confirmation, while thirty-two Democrats voted in favor. The New York State Senate, armed with a brand-new Democratic supermajority, won major victories in this year’s state budget and has become regarded as the most progressive player in Albany politics.
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