Governor David Paterson held a news conference Wednesday afternoon to question the nomination list for chief judges presented to him this week because not one person on the list was a woman.

He said it was even more surprising since outgoing Chief Judge Judith Kaye is a woman. Kaye must step down because of her age, and Paterson must choose her replacement by the middle of January.

Paterson was joined by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who he is asking to investigate legal alternatives.

"The issue is not the merit of the candidates who have been brought forward, they're outstanding," said the governor. "The issue is that I don't accept that there wasn't a woman in this state that wasn't qualified to serve on the Court of Appeals."

"For the commission to say we searched the state, we couldn't find a single solitary qualified woman to serve on the bench, something is wrong with either the process, or the legislation, or the way it was administered," said Cuomo.

Earlier this week, Paterson was handed a list of seven names to be considered to lead the highest court in the state. The list is made up of four appeals judges and three prominent lawyers; all but one are white.

The seven were chosen from a group of 12 people, which included four women.

"It's not my real desire to ask the commission to start this process over, because the seven individuals who have been rightly brought forward would suffer," said Paterson.

Legal expert Lawrence Mandelker believes that while the governor's options are limited at the moment, the governor's strong words could have an impact down the road.

"I'm sure he's in the process of sensitizing the panel to be more sensitive to diversity issues in the future," said Lawrence Mandelker.

According to a 1977 Constitutional amendment, the governor must pick from the list of names he is given and cannot ask for additional candidates.

Half of the selection commission is appointed by the chief judge and the other half is appointed by the governor.