This is not too off topic. The Court of Appeals is run by the prior DA of Westchester. Nassau County DA Singas has now been elevated to the Court of Appeals. Finally, Judge Garcis was a former prosecutor. Judge Cannataro was just elevated to the Court of Appeals but he reminded me of Judge Jeremy Weinstein – a professional administration judge, Not a bad thing mind you.
So how does a bench with a dearth of Civil non-criminal experience handle insurance disputes and personal injury disputes? I really do now know. I have read on the criminal law blogs that the defense bar is crying, and I can understand their concern.
But it seems that much of the decisions seem to be not necessarily on the pro-consumer side. Simmons v Trans Express Inc., 2021 NY Slip Op 03484 (2021)(in effect killing a wage and hour case through limited the bar on collateral estoppel found in the uniform small claims acts); Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph, LLP v Matthew Bender & Co., Inc., 2021 NY Slip Op 03485 (2021)(expanding the term consumer in GBL 349 but affirming the dismissal of the action anyway)
I always said take practitioners from all walks of life and let them be appellate judges. People in robes for too long sometimes forget the street hustle that us practitioners live.
