Submitted by Charles A. Kuffner, Jr., Oct 5, 2007 12:11

I read that editorial and said to myself, "What's new"? The issue in my opinion that seems to escape every writer's gaze is, Who makes the appointment and by what means does that appointment get made? From my own experience with the so-called "merit" selection process, it is more cynical than the purported "unconstitutional" judicial convention system. For example, after being denied the cross-endorsement for a 2nd term on the Supreme Court, a very rare political event, I went through the arduous task of applying to the Governor's Committee and the Mayor's Committee. This was after being voted "Highly Qualified" by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York; the only sitting trial judge to get that rating. I never made it out of the Governor's committee notwithstanding having had an affirmance rate of at least 98% on the criminal cases tried to verdict. Nor did I even get appointed by the Mayor even though his own committee voted to appoint me to the Criminal Court.

What happened? Politics at the so called merit system. Notwithstanding my qualifications after 14 years, my politics conflicted with the Governor when it came to Judicial Independence and obviously the Mayor fell into step with whom ever had the Governor's ear. Merit had nothing to do with this appointment process, politics ruled and politics in the rarefied atmosphere of one on one whispers in the ear of the appointer.

I have no illusions about the way New York State selects its Supreme Court judges. It is power politics, but at least it is a voting process no matter how watered down. I have known of floor fights within the convention to offset the rubber stamp of the political leader, but concededly they are rare.

Let's be honest, the merit system, so called, isn't the solution for the problem because it is politics of power in another shape. Without the system in New York, I would never have been a Judge. But because of the system in place at that time, a deal had been worked out between the political leaders that those who passed the selection committee would be nominated at the Judicial convention. I will be always grateful for that "unconstitutional" system.

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