"A Brooklyn judge handing out cushy positions to connected lawyers proves that corruption is still alive and well in the city court system, despite reforms put in place in the early aughts. From 2022 to '24, The Post reported last week, Brooklyn Judge Lawrence Knipel handed out 881 fiduciary appointments to 25 lawyers who'd donated $25,000 in total to his wife, Democratic district leader Lori Knipel."
"These gigs typically mean overseeing the assets of businesses, the elderly or the cognitively impaired; they usually yield lawyers ample rewards for minimal effort - which makes them prime patronage. though they're supposed to be doled out based on merit. Too bad if vulnerable clients (whether aging or disabled) get sub-par representation - or even have their assets looted by an attorney who basically bought his way onto their case."
"Rank courthouse corruption throughout the 1990s, especially in Brooklyn, came to a head when Kings County bosses were caught squeezing judicial candidates for $50,000 a pop in exchange for nominations. That prompted state Chief Judge Judith Kaye's early 2000s reforms, which tried to quash this corrupt patronage machine by limiting party leaders' ability to get their political pals on the bench."
A Brooklyn judge handed out 881 fiduciary appointments from 2022 to 2024 to 25 lawyers who collectively donated $25,000 to his wife, a Democratic district leader. Fiduciary roles often involve overseeing assets of businesses, the elderly, or the cognitively impaired and frequently yield large rewards for relatively little work, creating opportunities for patronage. New York's party-driven judicial nomination process concentrates power with county party committees and leaves little public input. Historical corruption in the 1990s prompted reforms in the early 2000s intended to curb patronage, but the appointments patterns indicate those reforms have not fully stopped political influence.
Read at New York Post
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