Gov. Kathy Hochul’s latest batch of judicial picks this week put a very familiar legal name on a quieter but powerful Albany bench. Andrew Amer, the state prosecutor who led the New York attorney general’s civil fraud prosecution of Donald Trump, has been appointed to the New York State Court of Claims. The June 4 appointments came as part of a 28-judge package that also shuffled interim assignments across the state Supreme Court.
As reported by amNewYork, Hochul’s announcement also named Fiordaliza Rodriguez and Danielle Eaddy to the Court of Claims and renewed the terms of several current New York City judges. The slate combines longtime prosecutors, family-court veterans and interim justices brought in to cover vacancies and rotating duties.
Hochul Frames Picks as ‘Talented, Qualified Jurists’
In a press release from the Governor's Office, Amer’s appointment to the Court of Claims is listed as part of the June 4 package. “Our judicial system works best when we have talented, qualified jurists on the bench,” Hochul said, language her office used to defend both the renewals and the new placements.
What the Court of Claims Actually Does
The Court of Claims hears civil suits that seek money from the state or its agencies, including personal injury, breach of contract, medical malpractice and unjust imprisonment claims. That jurisdiction makes these appointments especially significant for high-dollar cases that target New York State entities, according to New York Courts.
Amer’s Record and the High-Profile Case
Andrew Amer currently serves as special counsel in the attorney general’s executive division and led the AG office’s civil prosecution of Donald Trump in 2023, according to amNewYork. Before entering public service he spent nearly three decades as a litigator at Simpson Thacher, experience that advocates say lines up with a bench that regularly sees complex commercial and government-liability matters.
Recusal Rules and Conflicts to Watch
Because Court of Claims judges often hear suits involving state agencies that intersect with the attorney general’s work, nominees with recent prosecutorial roles can run into recusal questions when cases overlap with their prior dockets. New York’s rules on judicial conduct and disqualification require judges to step aside when their impartiality might reasonably be questioned, with the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct providing guidance on those calls.
The governor’s announcement notes that the appointments will be processed with the courts this month and that interim assignments will remain in place while vacancies are filled. For litigants and lawyers across the state, this round of picks quietly reshapes who will decide big-money claims against New York and which judges may have to recuse themselves in politically sensitive cases.
