ALBANY — The state’s top court is on its way to becoming the Cuomo Court.
If he wins and serves a second term, Gov. Cuomo will be able to replace all seven members of the state’s Court of Appeals.
The only other New York governor who has completely remade the court since its judges became appointed rather than elected in the late 1970s was Mario Cuomo, the current governor’s father.
Since four of the court’s current six judges were appointed by Republican George Pataki, Democrat Cuomo has a chance to change the court’s direction.
But Albany Law School professor Vincent Bonventre said Cuomo hasn’t shown much of an ideological hand in his nominations.
“If he’s like his dad, he won’t stick to just liberal Democratic appointments,” said Bonventre. “His dad appointed as many Republicans as Democrats and as many conservatives as liberals.
“Certainly, he’s been interested in diversity, like his dad was,” Bonventre added, noting that the younger Cuomo made Randall Eng the state’s first Asian-American presiding judge for the Appellate Division, one step below the Court of Appeals.