ALBANY, N.Y. -- Earlier this week, Governor Paterson was given a list of names from which he must select the state's next chief judge. But that list only includes men, a fact that has him sounding very annoyed.

“It seems highly unusual that in a class of seven individuals considered to be capable of supervising the court of appeals, that not one of them would be a woman,” Paterson said.

The Governor and State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo are questioning the process that selected those names, saying they're exploring their legal options to expand the list. But it's unclear what the Governor can actually do.

By law, Chief Judge Judith Kaye must retire at the end of this year. And the Governor has only until the middle of next month to select her replacement from the list of names recommended by the state's Commission on Judicial Nomination. State law limits the list to seven names and prohibits the Governor from asking for any additional recommendations.

“It's not my real desire to ask the commission to start its process over because the seven individuals who have rightly brought over to suffer and I don't want those people to suffer in this process,” Paterson said.

The seven names were selected by a group of 12 people, four of whom are women. Four of the panel's members were appointed by the Chief Judge. Four were selected by the Governor. Paterson was responsible for one of those selections and the remaining four were selected by the state's legislative leaders.

The panel defended its selections, but said it would work with the Governor to analyze the process. One legal expert 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 lawyer Lawrence Mandelker.

And diversity is what the Governor is also pushing for in another big decision. Within the next two months, Paterson will likely select someone to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate. The man the Governor stood with on Wednesday has been floated as a possible contender, but so far the Governor has refused to drop any major hints.