Westchester DA DiFiore confirmed as chief judge for NY

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The New York Senate has confirmed longtime Westchester County prosecutor Janet DiFiore as New York's chief judge.

The voice vote, with no opposition, followed an hour of praise for the 60-year-old district attorney by both Republicans and Democrats.

DiFiore, also a former trial court judge, has been Westchester's top prosecutor for a decade.

She replaces Judge Jonathan Lippman, who retired, as presiding judge at the seven-member Court of Appeals.

It's New York's highest court and often makes case law for the state.

DiFiore also becomes administrative head of the state court system.

Sen. John DeFrancisco, a Syracuse Republican, praised her for helping overturn the murder conviction that wrongfully put one man in prison for 17 years.

DeFrancisco is pushing legislation for a new commission to review complaints of prosecutor misconduct.