The mayor’s new judicial panel reveals the radical direction in which New York’s criminal and family courts may be headed. Last month, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced 18 new appointees to a “revitalized” judicial panel. Known formally as the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, the panel has a say in who becomes a judge in the city, evaluating and recommending candidates for mayoral appointment to the criminal and family courts, as well as interim appointments to civil courts. Established by Ed Koch in 1978 by executive order—before then, judges were appointed by the mayors themselves, who would...