Defending Diversity in Our Courts

The American Constitutional Society Blog has this posting on Lopez Torres v. NY State Board of Elections et al. challenging that New York State’s party-boss dominated convention system for Supreme Court justices is an unconstitutional deprivation of the rights of voters, candidates, and political party members.

The Brennan Center filed suit in federal court in March of 2004 on behalf of several plaintiffs, including Civil Court (now Surrogate Court) Judge Margarita Lopez Torres, Common Cause/NY, and several voters across the state. The named defendant is the New York State Board of Elections. The Association of Supreme Court Justices, the New York County Democratic Committee, and the New York State Republican Party all intervened as defendants to defend the status quo judicial convention system. On appeal, a wide array of groups including seven minority bar associations and legal organizations joined our efforts as amici.

Categories: General, Judicial Selection