First ever all-Latino bench takes helm in New York State Appellate Division
NEW YORK - For the first time in the history of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court, an all-Latino bench took the helm on the morning of Sept. 5. Presiding Justice Hector Daniel LaSalle says it was a day he never dreamed of.
"There was a particular sense of pride because the three women I sat with and I share not just an ethnic background, but we're all we're all first-generation college kids," Justice LaSalle tells CBS New York's Hannah Kliger.
All four justices on the bench, randomly selected from the 22 in the department, were of Hispanic heritage, and all are trailblazers in their own way.
"I became a Supreme Court judge. I was appointed to the Appellate term, the first Latina in the District Court in the town of Hempstead, the first Latina in Nassau County Supreme Court and the first Latina in the Appellate term, 9th and 10th Judicial District," says Associate Justice Helen Voutsinas, born to a Dominican mother and Greek father.
Associate Justice Betsy Barros has served in the department for nearly a decade and was born in Brooklyn to a family from Chile.
"This is the first time in the city's history that we are so represented. And it's important to continue and to be excellent at what we do," she says.
One of the newest additions to the court is Associate Justice Lourdes M. Ventura, who was born in Queens to parents from the Dominican Republic. She was part of the historic panel in September, and it was also her first day on the bench.
"Breaking the barriers is exciting, but then immediately what surfaces within is a great responsibility for it not to just remain with me. You know, I have this motto, 'lift as you climb,'" she explains.
The Appellate Division, Second Department, hears appeals from 10 counties and envelops more than half the population of New York State, making this one of the busiest benches in the country.
The counties include: Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, Kings, Queens and Richmond.
The diversity of the bench reflects the population of the region. Court officials say 11 of 22 justices are people of color, and the majority are women. For Presiding Justice LaSalle, himself born to parents from Puerto Rico, that's the point.
"When people walk into a courthouse ... for the entire institution to have credibility, it should look like the community it serves," he says.
That community includes urban areas, the city's suburbs and rural communities.
New York State data shows that nearly 20% of the population of the state is Hispanic.
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