And just like that… lefty actress Cynthia Nixon will get to screen and recommend candidates to serve on the state’s highest court, The Post has learned.
Nixon — who isn’t a lawyer but played one on the hit HBO show “Sex and the City” — was just appointed to serve on the Commission on Judicial Nomination by New York Chief Judge Rowan Wilson.
The commission suggests and vets potential judges to the Court of Appeals. Nixon’s appointment runs through April 30, 2030 and the position is unpaid.
Cynthia Nixon (right) with NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a fundraising party hosted at the actress’ own home. Instagram / Cynthia Nixon
“The Commission’s mandate is a powerful one: the Constitution requires that the Governor choose Judges of the Court of Appeals only from the nominees of the Commission,” the panel’s website says.
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But most of the other dozen members of the panel are practicing lawyers or have law degrees.
Legal community insiders were stunned and outraged by the appointment of the actress, who ran for governor in 2018 and endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor last year.
“She’s an actress! She’s known for ‘Sex and the City,’” fumed one lawyer who was flabbergasted by the pick.
Nixon at a press conference announcing a lawsuit from Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil against the Trump administration on July 13, 2026. Stephen Yang for NY Post
State Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Anthony Palumbo, a former Suffolk County prosecutor, said Nixon’s appointment was only “reinforcing the notion that the judiciary is now completely political.”
“I’m disappointed, but not surprised that we have a radical progressive actress without a law degree selecting judges in the state of New York,” said Palumbo, a Republican who reps the 1st State Senate District.
Saritha Komatireddy, a former prosecutor and the Republican candidate running against Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James, agreed: “Appointing a celebrity activist with zero legal background to help shape the future of our judiciary sends the wrong message entirely.”
“This is part of a broader trend in New York: politics increasingly taking precedence over public safety and common sense,” Komatireddy told The Post.
“At a deeply critical time when New Yorkers are demanding safer streets and greater confidence in our institutions, our leaders should be focused on restoring trust in the justice system and not turning judicial appointments into a political game.”
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Nixon’s biography on the commission website says, “Cynthia Nixon is a native New Yorker who began acting professionally at the age of 12 and has worked as an actor and director for nearly 50 years. Over the course of her career, she has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Grammy Award for her reading of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.”
While best known for playing attorney Miranda Hobbes in “Sex and the City,” the bio noted Nixon has played roles as varied as Emily Dickinson, Eleanor Roosevelt and Nancy Reagan.
Over the years, she has been an advocate for public school funding and has supported other social causes.
Nixon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College.
Her wife, Christine Marinoni, works as the chief of mass engagement at the Family and Community Empowerment (FACE) office at the Department of Education under Mamdani.
The Office of Court Administration declined to comment on the chief judge’s pick, though a court official noted that state law requires two of Wilson’s four appointees to the commission not to be members of the law bar.