Dear Academy Members and Friends:
Academy of Trial Lawyers President, Hon. John C. Cherundolo, has sent a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo with the Academy's ratings for the seven nominees under consideration for Associate Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, in connection with the upcoming vacancy on the Court created by the mandatory age retirement of Associate Judge Robert S. Smith.
To assist with the appointment process, the Academy's 11-member Judicial Screening Committee reviewed each nominee's background, decisions and/or writings. The Committee then conducted personal interviews with the new nominees in Albany on December 10, 2014. Two other nominees, Hon. Eugene Fahey and Mr. Rowan Wilson, had previously been nominated by the NYS Commission on Judicial Nomination to fill a vacancy. Having been interviewed by the Academy's Committee in September, they chose to use their prior ratings for this round of screenings as well.
In evaluating the nominees, the Academy's Judicial Screening Committee considered: judicial temperament; legal ability and experience; legal writing ability; general reputation, character and fitness; industriousness, diligence and promptness; and impartiality, freedom from bias and prejudice. The Committee also invited all of the more than 2,000 members of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers to provide the Committee with input regarding the qualifications of the nominees and considered all relevant information that was submitted by those members.
Based on those evaluations, the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers has rated the nominees as follows:
Kathy H. Chin - Well Qualified
Hon. Eugene M. Fahey - Exceptionally Well Qualified
Hector Gonzalez - Well Qualified
Hon. Erin M. Peradotto - Well Qualified
Mary Kay Vyskocil - Qualified
Rowan D. Wilson, Esq. - Well Qualified
Stephen P. Younger - Exceptionally Well Qualified