Hard cases, it’s said, make bad law.
They can make for pretty sketchy constitutional maneuvering, too — or, should we say, extra-constitutional maneuvering.
But while it’s hard to make a sound legal case for Gov. Paterson’s appointment of Richard Ravitch yesterday as lieutenant governor, it’s easy to understand the frustrations that drove him to such extraordinary action.
The Senate has been in a 31-31 partisan deadlock for more than a month; the state has no lieutenant governor — the agent constitutionally designated to resolve such an impasse — and thus the prospects for an expeditious end to the standoff seem remote.
Clearly the governor feels that Ravitch’s presence in Albany will resolve the crisis — and we hope he is correct.
But, late yesterday, the only thing that could be said with utter certainty is that Dick Ravitch has served the people of New York selflessly and with great integrity many times. Assuming that the governor has the constitutional authority to name a No. 2, Paterson could hardly have picked a better one.
But does he have such power?
Some, Paterson among them, say yes — that the state Public Officers Law allows the governor to fill elected-office vacancies. And this is true, up to a point.
But, as Attorney General Andrew Cuomo notes, the constitution says otherwise regarding a lieutenant-governor vacancy:
Cuomo cites Article 4, Section 6 of the state Constitution: “In case of vacancy in the office of lieutenant-governor . . . the temporary president of the senate shall perform all the duties of lieutenant-governor during such vacancy or inability.”
The Public Officers Law, he says, allows the governor to fill elected-office vacancies where there is no other provi sion to do so.
And the Constitution seems clear: The Senate president pro tem fills the job until the next gubernatorial election — in this case, in 2010.
Now, it’s true that the crisis revolves around rival claims to the Senate presidency — and, once again, it is to be hoped that Paterson’s action quickly resolves that question.
But if it does not, lawsuits are certain. This will further muddy the waters — and, sad to say, probably sully Ravitch’s sterling reputation along the way, for Albany tarnishes everything it touches.
Indeed, it is a fair measure of that squalor that folks can fairly wonder today whether New Yorkers are to be governed by laws or by men.
Given the caliber of the men running the government, that’s a scary thought.