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Professor and former Dean Kathleen M. Sullivan is representing New York Governor David Paterson in a legal battle over his appointment of Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor. The New York Times reports:
Lawyers for Gov. David A. Paterson faced pointed questions on Tuesday from a state appeals court panel about whether the governor had exceeded his authority when he named Richard Ravitch to the vacant lieutenant governor’s post last month.
Mr. Paterson’s lead attorney in the case, Kathleen M. Sullivan, fielded skeptical and at times critical questioning from the justices, who pressed her to explain how Mr. Paterson had the power to appoint a lieutenant governor when the State Constitution gave him no explicit authority to do so.
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Ms. Sullivan responded that while it might be ideal to have an election for a new lieutenant governor, state law does not provide for it. “We love elections, of course, you’re right,” she said. “But that doesn’t help us when we can’t have an election when we have a vacancy.”
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Ms. Sullivan responded that while the outcome might not be palatable to Justice Fisher, it was an outcome that the Constitution allows. “You may decide it’s not a Constitution you like, but it is the Constitution we have,” she said.
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In closing, Ms. Sullivan urged the court not to reject the naming of a lieutenant governor simply because no other governor had tried to do it. “Just because the power hasn’t been exercised, of course, does not mean the power does not exist,” she said.