Actress Cynthia Nixon, who played a lawyer on HBO’s Sex and the City, will now be screening and recommending candidates to serve on the state of New York’s highest court.
Nixon had been appointed by New York Chief Judge Rowan Wilson to serve on the Commission on Judicial Nomination, per the New York Post. Nixon’s unpaid appointment will run through April 2030 and will be suggesting and vetting potential judges for the Court of Appeals. The panel’s other members have valid law degrees.
“The Commission’s mandate is a powerful one: the Constitution requires that the Governor choose Judges of the Court of Appeals only from the nominees of the Commission,” the panel’s website says.”
“Legal community insiders were stunned and outraged by the appointment of the actress, who ran for governor in 2018 and endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor last year,” noted the NY Post.
New York State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D), speaks during a news conference outside the White House to announce a hunger strike to demand that President Joe Biden “call for a permanent ceasefire and no military aid to Israel, on Monday, November 27, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Anthony Palumbo, State Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member, said her appointment will only reinforce “the notion that the judiciary is now completely political.”
“I’m disappointed, but not surprised that we have a radical progressive actress without a law degree selecting judges in the state of New York,” said Palumbo.”
“Appointing a celebrity activist with zero legal background to help shape the future of our judiciary sends the wrong message entirely,” said former prosecutor Saritha Komatireddy, who will also be running against Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James.
“This is part of a broader trend in New York: politics increasingly taking precedence over public safety and common sense,” Komatireddy added. “At a deeply critical time when New Yorkers are demanding safer streets and greater confidence in our institutions, our leaders should be focused on restoring trust in the justice system and not turning judicial appointments into a political game.”
Nixon’s radicalism can best be labeled extreme and outside mainstream Democrat thought. Last year, for instance, she led a protest in favor transgender surgery for minors.