ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – State Supreme Court Justice Theodore Jones Jr. was nominated Sunday to the state’s highest court by Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

In choosing Democrat Jones, 62, as his first pick for the Court of Appeals, Spitzer added diversity to a seven-judge panel that became dominated by conservative Republicans under Gov. George Pataki.

Jones, admitted to the bar in 1973, is a state Supreme Court justice in New York City, hearing civil cases.

A graduate of Hampton University and St. John’s University School of Law, he is a former defense attorney for the Legal Aid Society, a criminal court judge and was a captain in the U.S. Army, receiving his discharge in 1975.

“I am humbled by the trust placed in me and I will do my best to live up to that great responsibility,” said Jones, who ran on the Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Working Families Party lines in 2003.

He succeeds Judge Albert Rosenblatt, a former Dutchess County district attorney appointed by Pataki in 1998. Rosenblatt was forced to step down at the end of December because he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 last year.

“He’s a jurist of the highest caliber,” said New York City Bar Association President Barry Kamins, who has argued cases as a defense lawyer before Jones. “He has an excellent temperament, great courage and devotion to fairness for everyone that comes into his court.”

Major high court decisions in recent years have allowed Indian casinos to flourish, slapped the state with a multibillion dollar bill to improve New York City schools, asserted the governor’s power over the Legislature in crafting state budgets, and restricted police searches.

While Spitzer said race would not be a factor when he considers potential nominees to the state’s highest court, he also said he values having a diverse bench. Jones is black.

At the end of Pataki’s tenure, there were just two black appellate division judges out of 54 statewide and both were appointed by his predecessor. Pataki appointed two other black judges to the midlevel court, but both left for other jobs.

Pataki also refused to reappoint Judge George Bundy Smith, a Democrat and the lone black on the court, when his term ended.

“Judge Jones was one of a number of minorities whom I had hoped would have gone to the appellate courts before now,” Smith told The Associated Press. “I hope that in next few years, those minorities, as well as white candidates, will get a fair chance to go to those courts.”

Four of the court’s current judges are conservative Republicans appointed by Pataki.

Spitzer’s nomination is subject to confirmation by the Republican-led Senate, the first time in 12 years the Senate will have to act on a Democratic governor’s choice. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, however, has said he has a good relationship with Spitzer and isn’t planning to block his appointments.

“There is a need for more diversity at all levels of the judiciary in New York state and we hope that the tone that Gov. Spitzer set by this appointment is followed throughout his administration and by those who follow in his footsteps,” said Nadine Johnson, president of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association.

In March, Chief Judge Judith Kaye’s 14-year term expires. Kaye, the first woman on the court, could serve until the end of 2008 if Spitzer reappoints her.

Kaye, appointed by Gov. Mario Cuomo, has told Spitzer she wants to remain on the court.

The six associate judges are paid $151,200 a year. The chief judge’s annual salary is $156,000.