Albany, NY – On October 1, the New York State Office of Court Administration announced that they would terminate 46 Supreme Court judges as of December 31, 2020 instead of recertifying them to continue working past the age of 70. By law, judges are entitled to request recertification up to three times, once every two years past the mandatory retirement age of 70 years old and the Office of Court Administration may determine whether that judge is cognitively fit to continue serving.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Chair of the New York State Assembly Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks opposing the cuts. Dinowitz issued the following statement on his letter and the OCA decision to terminate these 46 judges:

“Our court system has been long-plagued by case backlogs and an insufficient number of judges, especially in high-population judicial districts such as the Bronx. We have been making progress, adding eight additional judges in the New York City region, but this decision from OCA will undo all of that progress and will result in delayed justice for thousands of New Yorkers. OCA is under no obligation to deny recertifications from aging judges, and for them to issue such a blanket determination is an unequivocal example of age discrimination. New Yorkers deserve better, and I urge the Office of Court Administration to figure out a different way to manage the fiscal crisis our state is in.”

The letter from Assemblyman Dinowitz can be viewed here.