The mayor must only pick well-qualified judges

The mayor must only pick well-qualified judges

In 1978, during his first months in office, former Mayor Ed Koch issued an executive order creating an independent Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. This committee of senior members of the bar set the precedent for recommending mayoral judicial appointments to NYC’s Criminal, Family, and Civil Courts. This reform eliminated the past practice of mayors appointing judges based on political or personal favoritism. The bedrock of this 47-…