[IslandJeff]

One would, intuitively, nominate benign civil servants with sparing legal credentials.

I have no idea how NYC vets its judicial positions, however, further reinforcing your point. Obviously, yes, there are likely municipal court appointments to make, to adjudicate traffic and misdemeanor violations, and so forth.

[nopardons]

Yes, there are and someone who wants the answers to who belongs to which party, will have a lot of scut work to do, on that account. :-)