Public Comment from the Long Island Hispanic Bar Association on “The 2025 Report”
FOR RELEASE: July 21, 2025
The Long Island Hispanic Bar Association (LIHBA) commends the Latino Judges Association and Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels for their rigorous and compelling analysis in The 2025 Report, which lays bare the longstanding barriers that hinder equitable representation within the New York State Judiciary.
As the sole Latino bar association serving Nassau and Suffolk Counties, LIHBA is gravely concerned about the alarming lack of Latino representation in our local courts. The 10th Judicial District encompasses over 2.9 million residents—22.2% of whom are Latino in Suffolk County, and 18.5% in Nassau. Yet of the 132 sitting judges across both counties, only five identify as Hispanic/Latino, amounting to just 3.8% of the district’s judiciary. This disparity is both unacceptable and unsustainable.
The fact that only one Latino currently serves on the District Court bench across the entire district further illustrates the problem. The District Court handles criminal, small claims, and landlord-tenant cases—matters that deeply affect our communities. This underrepresentation has a direct impact on public confidence, language accessibility, and cultural competency in judicial proceedings.
Additionally, the trial-level Supreme Courts in both counties currently have no elected Latino justices. With the only two Latino Supreme Court Justices—Hon. Hector D. LaSalle (Suffolk) and Hon. Helen Voutsinas (Nassau)—now serving in the Appellate Division, the trial bench is devoid of Latino voices. This situation deprives our residents of judges who share and understand their lived experiences, reinforcing concerns about equitable access to justice.
We agree with The 2025 Report that these disparities are not coincidental. They are the product of systemic exclusion, opaque selection processes, and entrenched political gatekeeping. The confirmation hearings of Hon. Hector D. LaSalle—New York’s first Latino nominee for Chief Judge—exemplify the unique hurdles faced by Latino candidates, despite exemplary qualifications and public service.
The report further underscores a reality we know too well: the cross-endorsement system that dominates judicial elections on Long Island has become a barrier to diversity rather than a mechanism for merit-based advancement. In Nassau and Suffolk Counties, political party leaders frequently engage in closed-door negotiations to select slates of judicial candidates who then receive bipartisan endorsements—eliminating meaningful electoral competition and bypassing transparency. This system routinely sidelines qualified Latino candidates, who are often denied access to the power brokers controlling these slates. Without public accountability, the process perpetuates the status quo and stifles efforts to build a judiciary that reflects the people it serves.
To address these critical gaps, the LIHBA strongly urges government officials, judicial leaders, and political stakeholders to take the following immediate actions:
- Prioritize the nomination and appointment of Latino judges in Nassau and Suffolk Counties to
align judicial representation with community demographics. - Implement transparent and inclusive selection processes that eliminate discriminatory gatekeeping
and ensure equitable access to judicial office. - Invest in mentorship and pipeline initiatives designed to develop Latino legal talent from academic
institutions through judicial service. - Hold accountable political parties and judicial screening committees that perpetuate exclusionary
practices. - Expand demographic reporting mandates to include Town and Village Courts for a full and accurate picture of judicial diversity.
The judiciary must reflect the diverse communities it serves. When it does not, the legitimacy and fairness of the legal system are called into question. LIHBA stands in unwavering solidarity with the Latino Judges Association and all those committed to a judiciary that is representative, inclusive, and just.
Finally, we also wish to express our deep appreciation to Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels, whose enduring leadership and scholarship continue to illuminate the structural inequities within our judiciary. Through The 2025 Report, and the foundational 2020 Report that preceded it, she has given our community an invaluable advocacy tool—meticulously researched, unflinchingly honest, and rooted in a vision of a more representative bench. Her work is not only an academic contribution—it is an act of justice.
Respectfully submitted,
Long Island Hispanic Bar Association
July 2025