Cuomo appoints 10 Appellate Division justices

Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced 10 appointments to fill vacancies in all four departments of the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court.

“Each of these individuals brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the state’s Appellate Division,” Cuomo said in a news release. “These justices are each tremendously qualified and have shown a remarkable commitment to justice, and I am proud to appoint them to their new roles. Their service on the bench will benefit New Yorkers for years to come.”

The appointees in the Fourth Department:

• Justice John M. Curran: Curran was elected to the state Supreme Court in the Eighth Judicial District in 2004. He also served as the Orchard Park town justice in Erie County from 1996 until taking the Supreme Court position. Prior to his election to the Court, Justice Curran was in private practice in both New York and Florida for 20 years. He is a past President for the Supreme Court Justices for the Eighth Judicial District, the University at Buffalo Law Alumni Association and the Orchard Park Chamber of Commerce and has been an adjunct professor at Canisius College since 2006. Curran graduated from the University of Dayton in 1981 and the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School in 1984.
•  Justice Patrick H. NeMoyer: NeMoyer was first elected to the state Supreme Court in the Eighth Judicial District in 1997. He was re-elected in 2011. NeMoyer began his legal career in 1977 as a confidential law clerk and later principal law clerk for Administrative Judge James B. Kane of the Eighth Judicial District. He later became the Erie County Attorney until 1993, when President Bill Clinton nominated him to serve as United States Attorney for the Western District of New York. NeMoyer continues to be actively involved in various professional and civic organizations, including as a member of the New York State Pattern Jury Instructions Committee since 2003 and on the Board of Directors for the Center for Handicapped Children since 2003. NeMoyer received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the State University of New York at Binghamton and his law degree from the UB School of Law in 1977 and a master’s degree in economics from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1984.
•  Justice Shirley Troutman: Troutman has been a jurist for more than two decades beginning with her election in 1994 to the Buffalo City Court. She was later elected as an Erie County Court Judge and also appointed as an Acting state Supreme Court Justice. In 2009, Troutman was elected to the state Supreme Court for the Eighth Judicial District and currently presides over matrimonial and general civil litigation matters. Prior to her time on the bench, she has served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of New York, an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York and an Assistant District Attorney for Erie County. Since 1994, Justice Troutman has also been an adjunct professor at UB Law School. Troutman continues to be an active participant in various professional and civic organizations including the New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics and the Committee to Promote Public Confidence and Trust in the Courts. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1982, her  law degree from Albany Law School in 1985 and designated a Fellow by the United States Department of Justice for completion of its Advanced Science Technology and Resource Judge Training Program in 2009.

Nominees in the First Department are:

• Justice Ellen Gesmer: Gesmer was elected to the state Supreme Court in the First Judicial District in 2011. Gesmer received her bachelor’s degree from Radcliffe College in 1972 and her law degree from Yale Law School in 1976.
• Justice Marcy Louise Kahn: Kahn was nominated to serve as a state Supreme Court Justice in 1994 by Cuomo, making her the first openly gay or lesbian person to sit on the state bench, according to Cuomo’s office. She was re-elected to the post in 2008. Kahn received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1972 and her law degree from the New York University School of Law in 1975.
•  Justice Troy Karen Webber: Webber was elected to the state Supreme Court in New York County in 2002. Since 2009, she has served as the acting Surrogate for New York County. Webber received her bachelor’s degree in political science from New York University in 1978 and her law degree from New York University in 1981.

Nominees in the Second Department are:

• Justice Francesca E. Connolly: Connolly was elected to the New York Supreme Court for the Ninth Judicial District in 2009. She received her bachelor’s degree in social studies education/sociology from the State University of New York at Albany in 1979 and her law degree from Pace University Law School in 1982.
•  Justice Valerie Brathwaite Nelson: Nelson was elected to the state State Supreme Court for the Eleventh Judicial District in 2004. Brathwaite Nelson graduated from Syracuse University in 1975 and George Washington University National Law Center in 1978.

Nominees in the Third Department are:

• Justice Sharon A.M. Aarons: Aarons was elected to the state Supreme Court in the 12th Judicial District. Aarons earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from New York University in 1986 and her law degree from City University of New York School of Law in 1989.
•  Justice Robert C. Mulvey: Mulvey was elected to the state Supreme Court for the Sixth Judicial District in 2000, where he is currently the Administrative Judge for the district. He is a 1977 graduate of the State University of New York at Cortland and New York Law School in 1980.

Additional vacancies remain in each of the four Judicial Departments and the Governor’s office will continue reviewing candidates, according to the news release.

These appointments are not subject to Senate confirmation.