Special Commission on the Future of the New York State Courts

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these additional justices serve for indefinite, effectively permanent terms, while the justices who occupy the constitutionally provided seats on the court serve for five-year terms and must seek re-designation after their terms conclude. 44 There has long existed a strong consensus that at least one additional department should be added to the Appellate Division. 45 As with the constitutional cap on the number of Supreme Court Justices, even opponents of past court restructuring proposals have agreed that a reorganization of the Appellate Division is necessary. 46 However, the politically sensitive question of how the boundaries of the new department would be drawn has stymied attempts to implement this obvious solution to the Appellate Division problem. * * * * The diagram on the following page illustrates the current trial and appellate court structure of the New York State Court System for both criminal and civil matters. 44 See id. § 4(e) (providing that where an Appellate Division certifies to the Governor that it needs additional justices to handle its work, the Governor may designate additional justices; those justices serve unspecified terms, stepping down from the Court only when the Appellate Division certifies that their assistance is no longer required). 45 See generally ROBERT MACRATE ET AL., APPELLATE JUSTICE IN NEW YORK (1982). 46 See JSC REPORT, supra note 40, at 3 (supporting bill that would “[c]reate a Fifth Department of the Appellate Division by Constitutional Amendment”). 26 A Court System for the Future, February 2007
CURRENT STRUCTURE Court of Appeals Appellate Divisions of of the Supreme Court (Four Departments) civil criminal Appellate Terms of of the Supreme Court (First and Second Departments) Court of of Claims Surrogate’s Court Supreme Court Family Court County Court City City Court District Court NYC NYC Civil Civil Court NYC NYC Criminal Court Note: Town and Village Courts and direct appeals excluded; in the Third and Fourth Departments, criminal appeals from the City Court proceed to the County Court and can be further appealed to the Court of Appeals. A Court System for the Future, February 2007 27
Page 1 and 2: ACOURT SYSTEM FOR THE FUTURE: THE P
Page 3 and 4: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS On July 17, 2006,
Page 5 and 6: A. Vincent Buzard Partner, Harris B
Page 7 and 8: Counsel to the Commission</
Page 9 and 10: More fundamentally, the fragmented
Page 11 and 12: “New York has the most complex an
Page 13 and 14: “For 30 years, New York’s trial
Page 15 and 16: — SECTION ONE — THE CURRENT STR
Page 17 and 18: system grew exponentially. By the t
Page 19 and 20: issue from the Supreme Court or a c
Page 21 and 22: igation, family-related matters or
Page 23 and 24: Article VI of the New York State Co
Page 25: The Appellate Division was establis
Page 29 and 30: state Constitution on November 4, 1
Page 31 and 32: jurisdiction would become Superior
Page 33 and 34: In short, when it comes to the stru
Page 35 and 36: Given this reality, it is in the in
Page 37 and 38: The following is the testimonial of
Page 39 and 40: “Notwithstanding the results of t
Page 41 and 42: for by HRA) because my welfare bene
Page 43 and 44: husband told the judge that I was a
Page 45 and 46: Costs to Individuals, Businesses, M
Page 47 and 48: appear as witnesses), or to family
Page 49 and 50: The Tweed Commission</stron
Page 51 and 52: Court upstate as well as the transf
Page 53 and 54: y the Legislature and were approved
Page 55 and 56: proposed a concurrent resolution to
Page 57 and 58: efforts), make the case for reform
Page 59 and 60: Groups representing the indigent al
Page 61 and 62: Commercial Division of the New York
Page 63 and 64: safety and facilitate access to spe
Page 65 and 66: Courts in Hempstead and Syracuse al
Page 67 and 68: The details of our proposal are ref
Page 69 and 70: continue to handle such matters whi
Page 71 and 72: We recognize that some have express
Page 73 and 74: The diagram below outlines the stru
Page 75 and 76: Under a “merger in place” plan,
Page 77 and 78:
Judicial District. By contrast, jud
Page 79 and 80:
Today, the Housing Court, as this P
Page 81 and 82:
The issues concerning the Justice C
Page 83 and 84:
five years. 158 Therefore, it is no
Page 85 and 86:
of preservation. The use of citatio
Page 87 and 88:
CURRENT STRUCTURE Court of Appeals
Page 89 and 90:
JSC status, thereby increasing the
Page 91 and 92:
significant authority over our stat
Page 93 and 94:
The Supposed Ease of an Administrat
Page 95 and 96:
Supreme Court Justices hear every y
Page 97 and 98:
a restructuring have already been c
Page 99:
the constitutional amendment is pas
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Special Commission on the Future of the New York State Courts

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