Legislature Releases List of Candidates for Attorney General

Legislature Releases List of Candidates for Attorney General

PRESS RELEASE – TASK FORCE ON THE JUDICIARY

PRBA TASK FORCE ON THE JUDICIARY

A CALL FOR ACTION

New York, New York – The Puerto Rican Bar Association has organized a Task Force on the Judiciary to examine the lack of representation of Puerto Ricans and Latinos on the bench. The PRBA Calls For Action to ensure that there is TRUE Diversity and Inclusion in the Judiciary and the Judicial Selection Process in New York State.  

The Puerto Rican Bar Association –  Task Force on the Judiciary – will examine, inspect and evaluate the lack of Puerto Ricans and Latinos on the bench in New York State.  We are outraged that for the past two (2) years there have not been any candidates of Puerto Rican and/or Latino background that have come out of the Judicial Committees from the Manhattan, Kings, Queens and Staten Island.  Puerto Ricans and Latinos are not fairly represented in the New York Judiciary despite the large population of Puerto Rican and Latino communities in Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The PRBA will hold public hearings to address the underrepresentation of Puerto Ricans and Hispanics on the bench.  Where necessary the PRBA will have monitors to review the process and request that the appropriate government agencies including the United States Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission review the disparity in the Judicial Selection process to determine if violations of Constitutional rights have resulted. The PRBA has fought difficult battles to ensure that there is diversity on the bench yet it appears that the need for “Diversity and Inclusion” is not being honored.  The process needs to be examined and evaluated due to the disparate impact that has resulted.

The Puerto Rican Bar Association also joins with all of the organizations who expressed their profound outrage to the failure of the New York County Democratic Committee Independent Judicial Screening Panel to approve Judge Doris Ling-Cohan for the New York Supreme Court.  Judge Ling-Cohan, the first Asian American Female Judge in New York and a longtime PRBA member.  The Puerto Rican Bar Association was founded in 1957 and is one of the oldest minority bar associations in New York. We will continue to endeavor to ensure that Puerto Ricans, and all Latinos, are adequately represented in the legal profession so that the Puerto Rican and Latino Communities will continue to have a voice regarding New York State laws and policies.

Judith S. Kaye, First Woman to Serve as New York’s Chief Judge, Dies at 77

Judith S. Kaye, First Woman to Serve as New York’s Chief Judge, Dies at 77

E-Filing Training Available

E-Filing Training Available

KALAGNY Congratulates the Honorable Kathryn Paek

AABANY joins the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York in congratulating the Honorable Kathryn Paek on her historic appointment.

Here’s the announcement from KALAGNY:

The Honorable Kathryn Paek was appointed as a Judge of the New York City Criminal Court. She is the first Korean American woman judge in the New York State courts.

Judge Paek is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and appointed to the bench this year by the New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio.  Prior to her appointment, she was the Chief of Staff for the Office of Policy and Planning for the New York State Court System.  She was also a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society  in the Criminal Defense Division and the Immigration Unit.

Congratulations, Judge Paek!

NYS Joint Commission on Public Ethics Seeks Recommendations for Qualified Candidates …

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics currently seeks recommendations for qualified candidates to serve as independent and impartial hearing officers to oversee the adjudication of Commission matters.

Hearing officers will preside over formal hearings, render decisions on certain appeals and consider questions of fact and of law in connection with administrative proceedings of and applications to the Commission. The hearing officers will be called on a case by case basis and compensated for their service.

Eligible candidates are requested to submit a resume, writing sample, and professional references to:

NYS Joint Commission on Public Ethics
25 Beaver Street
7th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10004

Candidates must have been admitted at least 10 years, must be in good standing, and must be a current New York City resident or be willing to move to New York City in the event of a possible appointment.

Eligible candidates should download the Uniform Judicial Questionnaire from the Committee ’s website at www.nyc.gov/judiciary, and should contact the Committee’s Office to request waivers. Applications will remain active for one year from the date of the receipt by this office. Applications will be accepted on a continuing basis for appointment to future vacancies as they arise.