New York Gov. Cuomo has appointed all 7 appeals court judges who would vote in impeachment trial
Fox News ^ | Ronn Blitzer |
Posted on 3/18/2021, 9:37:59 AM by SJackson
Judges would join the state Senate in hearing an impeachment trial
New York lawmakers are preparing an impeachment investigation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but should they vote to hold a trial, the outcome will be determined in part by the state's seven Court of Appeals judges — all of whom were appointed by Cuomo himself.
Unlike federal impeachment trials, where only the Senate votes on the verdict, New York impeachment trials add Court of Appeals judges to the mix.
The court for the trial of impeachments shall be composed of the president of the senate, the senators, or the major part of them, and the judges of the court of appeals, or the major part of them," the state constitution reads.
Those Court of Appeals judges are Rowan Wilson, Jenny Rivera, Leslie Stein, Eugene Fahey, Michael Garcia, Paul Feinman and Chief Judge Janet DiFiore. All of them were appointed by Cuomo between the years of 2013 and 2017.
"They're mostly liberal," former State Assembly Republican leader John Faso told Newsmax. "Very liberal. And they are all Democrats except one."
The seven judges could be instrumental in determining the outcome of a potential impeachment trial as they would make up 10% of the 70-person impeachment court, joining the 63 state senators.
Senate Majority Leader Andrew Stewart-Cousins told reporters that while she believes there is a majority that supports Cuomo's resignation, she had not looked into how her colleagues feel about impeachment.
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