Lopez Torres v. NYS Board of Elections

In New York State the Supreme Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction. New York’s Constitution provides that “the justice of the supreme court shall be chosen by the electors [i.e., the voters] of the judicial district in which they are to serve.” In practice, however, New York Supreme Court judges are selected through a de facto appointment system, which is largely controlled by county leaders of the two major political parties.

Onerous structural obstacles designed to ensure that county leaders—not voters—select Supreme Court judges have prevented Lopez Torres and other highly qualified judges from becoming justices on the New York Supreme Court.

• U.S. Supreme Court Opinion
• New York Leaders on the Lopez Torres Case
• 2nd Circuit Opinion
• District Court Opinion

U.S. Supreme Court Briefs in Support of Respondents

• Brief of Respondents
• Combined brief on behalf of City of New York, the New York State Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association and the Fund for Modern Courts
• Brief of Former Assistant United States Attorney General for Civil Rights (1990–1993) under President George H.W Bush and Former New York State Senator, John Dunne
• Brief of Charles J. Hynes, Districts Attorney for Kings County, New York
• Combined brief on the behalf of former New York Judges and the American Judicature Society
• Brief on the behalf of the Washington Legal Foundation
• Combined brief on the behalf of the Campaign Legal Center, the Reform Institute, and Political Scientists Thomas Mann and Norm Orenstein
• Brief on the behalf of Prominent Constitutional and Election Law Professors
• Brief on the behalf of Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch
• Brief on the behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union
• Brief on the behalf of The New York County Lawyers Association
• Combined brief on behalf of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Hispanic National Bar Association, the Puerto Rican Bar Association, the Latino Lawyers Association of Queens County, the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, the Amistad Black Bar Association of Long Island, and the Rochester Black Bar Assocation

U.S. Supreme Court Briefs in Support of Petitioners

• Reply Brief for Attorney General of the State of NY
• Reply Brief for New York County Democratic Committee, New York Republican State Committee, Associations of New York State Supreme Court Justices in the City and State of New York, Honorable David Demarest, J.S.C.
• Brief of the New York County Democratic Committee, New York Republican State Committee, Associations of Supreme Court Justices in the City and State of New York, and the Honorable David Demarest
• Brief of the Attorney General
• Brief of the New York State Board of Elections, Douglas Kellner, Neil Kelleher, Helena Moses Donohue, and Evelyn Aquila
• Amicus Brief of the Mid-Manhattan Branch of the NAACP and the Metropolitan Black Bar Association
• Amicus Brief of the Asian American Bar Association of New York
• Amicus Brief of the Republican National Committee

U.S. Supreme Court Brief in Support of Neither Party

• Amicus Brief of the Cato Institute, Reason Foundation, and the Center for Competitive Politics

Other Important Court Documents

• District Court Papers
   
• Appeals Court Papers
  • FRAP 28(j) Letter Brief of Appellants (filed 8/11/06)
  • FRAP 28(j) Letter Brief of Appellees (filed 8/16/06)
  • Appellees’ Response to Attorney General’s Letter (6/23/06)
  • Attorney General’s Letter (6/14/06)
  • Amicus Brief of the New York Legislature
  • Appellees’ Letter in Response to the Legislature’s Brief
     
• For the Plaintiffs-Appellees
  • Appellees’ Brief on Appeal Before U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • Amicus Brief of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Puerto Rican Bar Association, Latino Lawyers Association of Queens County, Inc., the Center for Law and Justice, the Amistad Black Bar Association of Long Island, and the Rochester Black Bar Association
  • Amicus Brief of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York
  • Amicus Brief of Citizens Union of the City of New York
  • Amicus Brief of Former New York State Judges
  • Amicus Brief of Fund for Modern Courts
  • Amicus Brief of Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes
  • Amicus Brief of Mayor Edward Koch
  • Amicus Brief of New York County Lawyers’ Association
  • Amicus Brief of New York Civil Liberties Union
     
• For the Defendants-Appellants
  • Reply Brief for the Appellants
  • Brief for the Appellants
  • Amicus Brief of Asian American Bar Association of New York
  • Amicus Brief of Metropolitan Black Bar Association, Dominican Bar Association, Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York, James Castro-Blanco, Esq., Eliezer Rodriguez, Esq., and Fiorduliza Rodriguez, Esq.
  • Amicus Brief of St. Lawrence County Bar Association
  • Amicus Brief of Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York
     
• Petition and Opposition for a Writ of Certiorari
  • Petition for a Writ of Certiorari
  • Defendants’ Reply to Brief in Opposition
  • New York State Board of Elections’ Reply to Brief in Opposition
  • Amicus Curiae Brief of the Asian American Bar Association of New York in Support of the Petition for a Writ of Certiorari
  • Brief for the Mid Manhattan Branch of the NAACP and the Metropolitan Black Bar Association as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioners
  • Brief Amicus Curiae of the Republican National Committee in Support of Petitioners
     
• Plaintiffs’ Exhibits
  • Report of the New York Judicial Committee of Women on the Courts (1996)
  • Report of the New York Judicial Committee of Women on the Courts (2002)
  • Report of the Judicial Task Force on Diversity (1992)