On the back of your ballot you’ll have the opportunity to cast a vote for judicial candidates — but in all but one race, there are open positions available for every candidate running.
So unless you live in Queens, the judges who will be elected to the bench this November are essentially predetermined.
Who’s on the ballot in this rare competitive race? And why don’t New Yorkers get a real say in who their other judges will be?
Let’s break it down:
The One Real Judicial Race: Surrogate’s Court
If you’re a Queens voter, you have a real choice between candidates Cassandra A. Johnson (D) and Stephen Weiner (R, CON, and Common Sense) for Surrogate’s Court.
A Surrogate Judge, also known simply as the Surrogate, deals with matters relating to wills, estates and guardianship. The position in Queens has long been held by Democrats, but Republican challenger Weiner seeks to make court processes more efficient and approachable — and though he’s a Republican running against a Democrat, he’s not looking for a partisan shift.
“I am taking up the banner of reform. And it’s not about a Republican court. I’m not interested in a Republican court. I don’t want to trade one clubhouse for another,” Weiner told the Sunnyside Post.
Johnson is currently the Supreme Court 11th Judicial District Justice, and Weiner is an attorney specializing in wills, trusts and estates. Johnson is the Democratic party’s pick for the role, and already fended off a rare primary challenger — the first surrogate primary since 1962.
Why are there so few competitive races?
In New York, judicial races are often predetermined.
Why? The judicial nominees are hand-picked by party insiders and often spend years currying favor and donating to the party before declaring their candidacy for judge, as THE CITY has previously reported. They’re selected at judicial conventions, where elected delegates vote on which candidates make it on the ballot.
However, despite it being an election, it’s not a very democratic process: party leaders decide on their preferred candidates before the delegates even step into the room to vote — meanwhile, the delegates themselves are often party loyalists who don’t receive any information about the nominees ahead of the convention.
Despite the old-school influence of political machines over the judicial selection process, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the system as constitutional in 2008.
What do the different courts do?
New York City has five different main court systems. On your ballot, some New Yorkers will see judicial candidates for the Supreme Court, Civil Court and Surrogate’s Court.
- Supreme Court: Unlike our national Supreme Court, the New York Supreme Court is not the highest court in the state — that’s the Court of Appeals, whose judges are appointed by the governor. The Supreme Court deals with criminal and civil cases and is the only court that can grant divorce proceedings. It also generally only hears cases that are outside the jurisdiction of other state and city courts. Supreme Court judges are elected to serve 14 year terms.
- New York City Civil Court: Civil Court deals with civil cases, i.e. cases that have to do with disputes between people or organizations, rather than cases which deal with the violation of a criminal law. It deals with cases involving amounts of money up to $50,000, and it’s also where you’ll find small claims court and housing court. Civil Court judges serve 10 year terms.
- Surrogate’s Court: As we mentioned above, the Surrogate’s Court deals with issues involving decedents, which includes handling wills, estates and adoptions. The Surrogate judge is elected to serve a 14 year term, or until retirement at 70 — so Weiner, the Republican challenger, would serve only 4 years.
New York City also has Family Court and Criminal Court, but neither of these courts have judges on the ballot this November.
