By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

Eight months after the State of New York Commission on Judicial Nomination released its list of seven candidates to replace outgoing Chief Judge Hon. Judith Kaye - a slate dominated by Caucasians and lacking a single female nominee - the panel has proposed changes to the nomination process.

When the nominees were announced in December, Gov. David Paterson sharply criticized the commission for not producing a diverse list, and called for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to explore options including possible revisions to the nomination process.

"Since we have a process that has gone away from its original purpose," Paterson said at the time, "I think that the process has to be called into question."

The 18-page document outlining the proposed changes includes a paragraph to be added to the selection guidelines that reads, in part, "The chairperson will request a meeting between the commission and the governor/governor-elect to discuss the vacancy and effort to recruit candidates."

Kaye is now chair of the nominating commission. Former Chair John O'Mara aggressively disputed the governor's claims last year that women and minorities were not fairly represented in the process.

"The commission has recommended numerous women for nomination to the court, including recommending (former) Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye for nomination three times, once as associate judge and twice as chief judge," O'Mara said in December.

Locally, the proposed changes, and the possibility that more doors would be opened for women and minority judicial candidates, were well-received.

Jessica Lazarin, president of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York, says she is hopeful that the proposed revisions will be adopted.

"Not so much locally, but in other parts of New York, (lack of diversity) really is a problem, because you may not have diverse candidates with ties to the political parties and so you have a lot of well-qualified lawyers who are not considered just because they don't have those ties," Lazarin said. She stressed that this shouldn't be an open door for candidates based solely on their status as a minority.

"Opening up the process allows for well-qualified candidates, not just because they are diverse or female - let's face it, you still have to be well-qualified," she said. "But now you've given those candidates a chance to compete, and I think this will restore confidence in the nomination process and confidence in our courts."

It is a point that Natalie Griggs, the new president of the Women's Bar Association of Western New York, Western New York chapter, says is critical to the success of women in the legal field.

"We need to reflect the wide range of qualified individuals that are in the profession, including women and minorities, and if that is not being adequately reflected, changes do need to be made," Griggs said. After reviewing the proposed revisions, she said, "It appears, on its face, that (this plan) may open additional avenues," but she noted that it will be a wait-and-see issue.

Griggs expressed concern that the lack of diversity in state leadership may contribute to unbalance throughout the New York legal community.

"Based on the surveys that have been done, you are still seeing that disparity, and I think it can have that negative trickle-down effect from the top. And it goes to a lead-by-example analogy where (leaders) can't expect one entity to do what another isn't."

Kaye said in a statement that the revisions reflect the collective experiences of the commission's members and will be used to ensure that the best candidates are submitted going forward.