Brooklyn Judge applies for Court of Appeals vacancy
Current Second Department Appellate Division Associate Justice Cheryl Chambers is in the running to fill a current vacancy on New York’s Court of Appeals. The open seat on the state’s highest court was left vacant due to the sudden death of Justice Theodore T. Jones in November 2012.
Applications for Court of Appeals vacancies are vetted through the Commission on Judicial Nomination. The commission solicits applications and then considers candidates based on their merits. The selected candidates are then submitted to the governor, who makes the final decision.
It has been reported that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is actively seeking to add diversity to the Court of Appeals. At the time of his death, Jones was the only black judge on the bench. Chambers, a Brooklyn resident and the wife of Seymour James, president of the State Bar Association, is one of seven candidates, three of whom are black women.