Justice delayed on purpose

When, on March 31, Steuben County Judge Patrick McAllister declared that the maps for congressional, state Senate and Assembly districts drawn by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Hochul violated the state Constitution, the defendants could have taken their case directly to the highest court in New York, the Court of Appeals, which is the final word on the Constitution.

But a speedy resolution was not in the interest of Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Hochul and the state’s lawyer, Attorney General Tish James. They contended that there just wasn’t enough time for new maps, so to eat up the clock as much as possible, they took the case to the intermediate appellate court in Rochester. Weeks went by as the lawsuit was briefed and counter-briefed and oral arguments were held. The April 21 decision restored the Senate and Assembly maps, but reaffirmed that those for Congress were void.

But the Court of Appeals wasn’t tolerating stall ball. In only six days, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and her six colleagues handled the whole case, including back to back to back briefs and arguments. Then they issued a historic final decision on April 27 that again killed the Senate maps and kept the Assembly districts alive on a thread, waiting for someone to file a case to challenge them.

That case, brought by Gary Greenberg, is trying to get back to the Court of Appeals, but lawyers for Heastie and James are again trying to run out the clock in the Manhattan appellate court. The court clerk offered a rapid schedule; the pols refused. And while Greenberg’s lawyers filed their brief yesterday, Heastie and James aren’t filing until Monday, with a hearing set for next Thursday. Unacceptable. If the papers can’t be ordered to be submitted earlier than Monday, the hearing must be Tuesday with a decision coming that same day.

James just agreed with Donald Trump for a fast-track case before the same bench, but on Heastie’s map, she is going as slow as possible.