New York lawmakers grill administrative judge over decision to cut loose 46 justices older than 70

(The Center Square) – The man who oversees the daily operation of New York’s state court system told state lawmakers Wednesday officials he had to let go of nearly all Supreme Court justices age 70 or older as part of its cost-cutting efforts.

Not certifying those 46 judges means the court system will save $55 million over a two-year period, Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks said during a Joint Legislative Budget Hearing for public protection. The “grim alternative,” he added, would have been to let go of at least 325 nonjudicial staff members.

“That’s in addition to the 730-plus positions left open so far through the hiring freeze,” he said. “This was simply unacceptable, both operationally and morally.”

Those cuts would have predominately impacted the system’s younger workers due to civil service laws, Marks added. Those workers would not have enough seniority to collect a pension, leaving them especially vulnerable in a tight job market.

In New York, 70 is the retirement age for judges. However, they can apply to serve for two-year extensions through age 76.

In December, 10 judges filed age discrimination suits against Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and an administrative panel that made the choice to not approve all but three of the 49 older justices.

Budget committee members made it clear they were not happy with the decision to cut judges. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, D-Bronx, said of the 46 judges, eight were from the Bronx, which makes up 7 percent of the state’s population.

“Yet 17 percent of the judges that are being eliminated were working in the Bronx, the borough, the county that is probably in the greatest need of every county in the state,” Dinowitz said.

He also had concerns that three of the six judges of color that were let go were from the borough, further adding to the fact that the cuts were not equally distributed across the state.

Another Bronx Democrat, Assemblywoman Latoya Joyner, asked if the Office of Court Administration conducted any formal study to determine what the impact of not retaining the judges.

Marks replied that if the judges were retained, the jobs cuts would have had a profound impact on people who represent themselves in court cases and often rely on staff members, like clerks and help desk staffers, that help those litigants the most.

“Not that this was a simple decision or an easy decision – it wasn’t, don’t misunderstand me,” he said. “But, given the two bad choices, the worst choice would have been to certificate the judges and have to lay off hundreds of employees.”

The courts are asking for $2.25 billion for fiscal year 2022, which is the same amount it received last year. That’s 10 percent less than had been budgeted previously.

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