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In a unanimous decision, members of the appellate panel cited that no state law or constitutional provision allowed the lieutenant governor's post to be filled by anything but an election.

Governor David Paterson appointed Ravitch back on July 8th in an effort to end the political stalemate in the State Senate which lasted for nearly a month.

"I still have 17 months left in my term as governor and should there ever be another chaotic fight in the senate as we have witness, we would not know who would succeed the governor if the governor became incapacitated or could not serve," Paterson said.

The appointment was met with heavy opposition from Republican leader Dean Skelos of Long Island who brought the challenge to court.

Meanwhile, Ravitch says he plans on staying on until the appeals case is heard and says so far everything has been conducted within constitutional bounds.

"I've been doing nothing publicly. I haven't exercised any power of any kind. I've just spent these weeks learning," Ravitch said. "I'm going to continue doing that no matter what."

In a statement, Skelos said Paterson acted recklessly and unconstitutionally in the appointment. He also said he is confident the governor's appeal will fail.