N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 22 § 7100.6

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 51, December 18, 2024

Section 7100.6 - Solicitation of candidates

In its solicitation of candidates, the commission's objective is to give well qualified candidates of every background an opportunity to be considered for nomination. The commission will strive to identify candidates who reflect the diversity of the citizenry of the State of New York and will conduct broad outreach to encourage wide participation in the application process. When the commission has been duly notified that a vacancy on the Court of Appeals has occurred, or is about to occur, the following steps directed to achieving the commission's objective will be taken.

(a) The chairperson and counsel will arrange for broadly disseminated public notice of the existence of the vacancy, the procedure to be followed by prospective candidates in order to be considered by the commission, the procedure to be followed by the public to bring qualified candidates to the attention of the commission, and any deadline that has been fixed for the receipt of questionnaires.

(b) Each commissioner, and counsel, will encourage persons who may be well qualified to fill a vacancy on the Court of Appeals to file an executed questionnaire for consideration by the commission. In seeking recommendations or encouraging prospective candidates, commissioners, and counsel should make clear that no commitment or support for nomination is implied. A commissioner will disclose to the commission that he or she has encouraged a candidate to apply to fill a vacancy when that candidate is first considered by the commission.

(c) In order to enhance and supplement the outreach required by subdivision (b) of this section, the commission may appoint an outreach committee, comprised of commissioners, which will solicit recommendations from the legal community.

(d) The commission will disseminate the notice of vacancy in at least the following ways:

(1) Announce the vacancy to the media.

(2) Announce the vacancy to bar associations in the State of New York (including those groups registered with the commission under section 7100.11 of this Part) urging them to take special efforts to notify their members.

(3) Announce the vacancy to deans of New York law schools, urging them to take special efforts to notify faculty and other eligible candidates.

(4) Encourage members of the public to identify qualified candidates.

(5) Place official notice on the commission's website, and request the posting of the official notice on court websites, the Governor's website, the Attorney General's website and the websites of the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly.

(6) Send the notice to the Presiding Justices of the Appellate Divisions, the Administrative Judges for each Judicial District and the Chief Administrative Judge for the State of New York.

(7) Send the notice to civic and public interest organizations that are registered with the commission under section 7100.11 of this Part.

(e) The questionnaire will be made available on the commission's website.

(f) Prior to the commencement of the initial screening process for a vacancy, the commission, through subcommittees as appointed by the chairperson, may convene an informational meeting, open to the public, in each of the four Judicial Departments of the State. To the extent practicable, there should be at least two informational meetings, at least one of which will be in New York City. The date, time and place of the informational meeting will be published on the commission's website and distributed to the media as part of the notice of the vacancy or in a separate public notice. At the informational meeting, the commission will discuss the requirements for the position and the commission's procedures and rules for submitting recommendations of qualified candidates; copies of the commission's rules also will be made available. At that time, the public may be heard (orally or in writing) about community needs, the general qualifications for judicial office and the nominating process.

(g) The commission's website will provide answers to frequently asked questions about the requirements for the position and the commission's procedures for the public to bring qualified candidates to its attention.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 22 § 7100.6