Defying first-time-elected Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, the Democratically-led New York state senate judiciary committee rejected her nominee to lead the state’s supreme court amid concerns that his judicial record is too conservative, Reuters reports.
The senate judiciary committee voted 10-9 to withhold the nomination Hector LaSalle, the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, from a vote on the floor of the senate, killing his opportunity. Seven members of the committee did not vote and another was not present at the meeting.
A prosecutor for 15 years before becoming a judge, liberal groups has criticized LaSalle’s decisions, saying they favor police, prosecutors and anti-abortion groups, as well as putting employer rights over those of workers. Hochul claims that she could sue to have a vote on the floor of the senate, although that route is still unclear.