12 MAY 17, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
HEADING
Legislature must do its job on AG spot
“I have fulfi lled my constitutional
duty. Now it’s time for the Senate
to do theirs.”
Those were the words President
Barack Obama said upon nominating
Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme
Court in March of 2016 to replace the
late Antonin Scalia. Of course, the Senate
never fulfi lled its constitutional
duty to take up Garland’s nomination,
and the seat remained vacant until
President Trump fi lled it.
We can’t help but draw a bit of a parallel
to the failed Garland nomination
with the debate over how New York
state will choose its next attorney general
following the shocking and sudden
downfall of Eric Schneiderman.
The State Constitution outlines a
process for fi lling a vacancy in the Attorney
General’s offi ce. The state Legislature
is tasked with appointing a new
attorney general until the people elect
a new one this election year. (Until that
happens, acting Attorney General Barbara
Underwood serves as the head of
our state’s justice department).
The Legislature began this week the
process of vetting possible attorney
general candidates. But some want the
Legislature to to simply ignore its constitutional
obligation and to “let the people
decide” who will be our new attorney
general.
News fl ash: The people will decide
who will be the new attorney general.
Their elected representatives in Albany,
acting on their behalf, will vet and
confi rm a new attorney general.
Moreover, regardless of the appointee,
the voters will ultimately elect a
new attorney general in November,
aft er fi rst selecting their party nominees
in September.
Even so, some have suggested that
the Legislature, rather than appoint a
new attorney general, should instead
order a special election. The timing of
this vacancy, however, makes a special
election impractical. Few voters will
participate in it, and in all likelihood,
the party bosses will handpick the candidates
with little input from voters.
Certainly, Underwood is well qualifi
ed to serve as attorney general; she
clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall, taught at Yale
Law School and served in the Queens
and Brooklyn District Attorney’s
offi ces. Reportedly, she has no plans
to seek a full term as attorney general
this November.
Considering her stellar background,
we would recommend that the state
Legislature vote to remove the word
“acting” from Underwood’s title. If, on
the other hand, the state Legislature
wants to choose someone else to fi ll
the rest of Schneiderman’s term, that’s
their prerogative.
vwwWe send these lawmakers,
worts and all, to Albany every year
to represent us. They should do their
job and carry the process through to
its ultimate conclusion. Anything less
would be a failure to the people, and
to the oath the lawmakers took upon
entering offi ce.
EDITORIAL
ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
Editor-in-Chief
ROBERT POZARYCKI
Classifi ed Manager
DEBORAH CUSICK
Assistant Classifi ed Manager
MARLENE RUIZ
Reporter
RYAN KELLEY
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