2006 Survey of New York State Assembly and Senate Candidates

The Committee for Modern Courts mailed surveys to all the candidates for the New York State Senate and Assembly. The survey contained eight questions. Modern Courts focused this year's survey on judicial selection of New York Supreme Court justices because of its particular relevance for the upcoming legislative session.

The federal courts held, in Lopez Torres v. New York State Board of Elections, that our present system of selecting nominees for the State Supreme Court is unconstitutional because it "violated the rights of voters and the rights of candidates who lack the backing of party leaders." You may read the cover letter to the survey, the survey questions and report, and the individual responses of candidates for the NYS Senate and Assembly by clicking on the links in the upper right.