By Ed Diokno
Justice Doris Ling-Cohan of the New York Supreme Court will get her day in court.
“There are too few Asian American judges in New York,” read a statement from Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund. “We must not support a nominating system that allows highly qualified and independent judicial candidates to be kept off the ballot, simply because they fall out of favor with party leaders or unfairly become the target of anonymous attacks.”
The initial rejection of Ling-Cohan, first revealed in a New York Post story last week quoting an anonymous source saying the panel viewed her as “lazy,” has called into question the impartiality of the process — now dominated by lawyers who enjoy the opportunity to pick the judges they will appear before in cases involving millions of dollars. “These white shoe lawyers are getting a chance to knock off judges to benefit themselves,” charged Pete Gleason of the Downtown Independent Democrats.
Critics of the panel recommendation say that opposition to Ling-Cohan was spearheaded by a real estate lawyer whose firm would benefit if Ling-Cohan, who is widely supported by tenant groups, were not allowed to run again.
AsAmNews is an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. You can show your support by liking our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/asamnews, following us on Twitter, sharing our stories, interning or joining our staff.
RE: Asian American New York Supreme Court Justice will run for re-election after all: Justice Ling-Cohan still needs to campaign to get enough votes to secure the nomination on 9/22. The screening panel has since reversed its own decision and found her approved, having been racked by irregularities in its first vote. However, the Democrats refused to accept their report which is an injustice.
RE: Asian americna NY Supreme Court Justice will run for reelection after all: The headline is not correct. She is not assured the nomination unless she wins the delegates on 9/22 convention. And the Democratic Party is still disrespecting her and the communities by not removing the disapproved rating that its own Screening Panel has itself voted to do, when the Panel itself said the first vote was marred by irregularities!
Justice for the Justice and the communities she serves!