BILL NUMBER: S7217

SPONSOR: SERINO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment
to section 24 of article 6 of the constitution, in relation to jurors
during impeachment of the governor

 
PURPOSE:

To prohibit judges of the court of appeals appointed by the sitting
governor from acting as a member of the court for the trial of impeach-
ments against such governor.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends Article VI of the New York State Constitution to
prohibit any judge of the Court of Appeals appointed by the sitting
Governor from acting as a member of the court for the trial of impeach-
ments against the Governor.
              

Section 2: Provides the procedure, in conformity with section 1 of arti-
cle 19 of the constitution, for a constitutional amendment.

 
EXISTING LAW:

The Lieutenant-Governor and Temporary President of the Senate are
prohibited from serving as a member of the court for the trial of
impeachments against the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, however judges
of the Court of Appeals currently may serve as a member of the court for
the trial of impeachment against the Governor who appointed them.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The New York State Constitution establishes that the court for the trial
of impeachments is comprised of the Lieutenant Governor, state senators,
and the judges of the Court of Appeals. In recognition of the importance
of preventing potential conflicts of interest, or even the appearance of
a conflict of interest, the State Constitution prohibits the Lieuten-
ant-Governor an the Temporary President of the Senate from acting as
members of the court for the trial of impeachments against the Governor
or Lieutenant-Governor.

However, while the Lieutenant-Governor is selected on the same ticket as
the Governor in a general election, nominees for the position are chosen
separately during primaries, and the Temporary President of the Senate
is chosen by members of the New York State Senate itself.  Judges of the
Court of Appeals are unique among members of courts for impeachment
trials in that they are the only members chosen by the Governor. Cases
of impeachment and subsequent trials inherently deal with violations of
the public trust, hence it is critical that the process is one that the
public can trust is fair and impartial. While the judges on the Court of
Appeals may be people of the utmost integrity, even the appearance of a
conflict of interest threatens to erode the public trust in the process.

The independence of any members of an impeachment trial is essential to
avoid undermining faith in the process. In light of this, this legis-
lation would prohibit judges of the Court of Appeals who have been
appointed by the sitting Governor from acting as a member of the
impeachment trial court against such Governor. This commonsense step
would strengthen public trust in the independence of any such proceeding
and prevent potential conflicts of interest.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Resolved, if the Assembly concur, That the foregoing be referred to the
first regular legislation session convening after the next succeeding
general election of members of the Assembly, and, in conformity with
section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be published for three
months previous to the time of such election.