On July 23, 2026, five New York-based Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (AANHPI) bar associations released a joint statement calling for Gov. Kathy Hochul to appoint the first AANHPI jurist to the state’s highest court following the expiration of New York Court of Appeals Senior Associate Judge Jenny Rivera’s term on February 10, 2027. The release was covered by The New York Law Journal.
The statement was issued by the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), the Filipino American Lawyers Association of New York (FALA New York), the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY), the South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY), and the South Asian Indo-Caribbean Bar Association of Queens (SAICBA-Q).
The organizations noted that no AANHPI jurist has served on the Court of Appeals in its nearly 180-year history, despite New York being home to more than 2 million AANHPI residents.
“Appointing an AANHPI judge is both timely and long overdue,” the organizations declared.
Brian Lee, writing for the NYLJ, noted that: “The most recent Asian-American candidate to reach the final stages of the Court of Appeals selection process was former Appellate Division, First Department Justice Jeffrey Oing” on the 2022 shortlist for Chief Judge.
“We urge Gov. Hochul to seize the opportunity and make a historic appointment of the first AANHPI judge to serve on the Court of Appeals,” the groups stated.
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To read the full joint statement, go here.
