Judge of the court of Appeals of new York may become first openly gay

Judge of the court of Appeals of new York may become first openly gay

Judge of the court of Appeals of new York, the highest court of the state, may become first openly gay. This week, Governor Andrew Cuomo offered the post of the candidate Gender Feynman, which is included in the composition of judges of the Appeals division of the Supreme court of the state of new York does not hide his homosexuality.

I’m proud to nominate Paul G. Feinman to the New York State Court of Appeals, who will be the first openly gay man to serve on the court.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 15, 2017

«I am proud that nominated Paul Feynman in the court of Appeal of the state of new York, he will become the first openly gay person to serve in this court.»

However, to become a judge, one of the Governor’s decision is not enough. Feynman’s candidacy must also be approved by the Senate.

At the moment, do not know the exact date of the meeting of the Senate Committee on the judiciary, but in all likelihood, this issue will not begin until after the legislative session. It will end next Wednesday.

Recall that a panel of the court of Appeals of new York consists of seven members, but since then, in April 2017, judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam was found dead on the banks of the Hudson river, its place was vacant.

“Now, when we still struggle with the loss of the dearly departed from us judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, judge Fineman will assist the appeals court to remain faithful to the higher principles of law and justice, who represent all that is best in the state of new York,” said Andrew Cuomo.

He also added that Fineman is a “gifted lawyer who devoted his career to public service”.

The experience Feynman, of course, great. The shared experience of his tenure as judge in the state of new York is more than 20 years, and his career as a lawyer, he began in 1985, after he received a doctorate in law at the University of Minnesota.

During all this time Paul Fineman has worked in such positions as:

  • chief staff attorney in the criminal defense division Legal Aid Society;
  • senior law clerk at judge Angela M. Mazzarelli;
  • member of the Trial chamber on civil cases;
  • acting judge in the Supreme court;
  • judge of the Supreme court;
  • and finally, a member of the Board of Appeals office.

As an openly gay man, Fineman is part of the Commission Richard S. Failla on the issues of the LGBT community. The Commission advocates for equal access to the judicial system for all persons regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as for engaging community members of LGBT judges and other positions within the Unified court system.

When Cuomo chose Feynman’s candidacy for the post of judge of the court of Appeal, member of the new York state Assembly Harry Bronson called it a “historic moment for the LGBT community in new York.”

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