Application Deadline Coming For Vacancy On NY Top Court

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — With a vacancy on New York's highest court opening next year, a state commission is reminding prospective candidates that applications are due by Sept. 26.

The Commission on Judicial Nomination is expected to establish a short list of possible nominees from among those applicants to replace Judge Eugene Pigott Jr.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to choose someone from the list for his seventh appointment to the seven-member Court of Appeals.

Pigott was nominated by Republican Gov. George Pataki (puh-TAK'-kee) in 2006. He turns 70 this year, the mandatory retirement age from the court.

The Court of Appeals establishes case law for the state and sets precedents often influential in other state and federal courts.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]