Special Commission on the Future of the New York State Courts

— SECTION EIGHT —
THE NECESSARY STEPS TOWARD CHANGE
As set forth in the preceding sections, we believe the case
for reform is compelling and that a restructuring of the courts
will profoundly affect New York’s economy and its citizens. To
turn our recommendations into reality, we briefly identify in this
section some of the concrete steps that should be followed if
meaningful reform is to be achieved.
First, to enact our proposals, a constitutional amendment
will have to be passed. This process takes time as it requires two
consecutive, separately elected legislatures to pass the
amendment. Then, upon passage, the amendment must be
presented to the voters for ratification. To facilitate these goals,
we have included in the Appendix a draft constitutional
amendment that, if passed, would put in place all of the changes we
have proposed. The inclusion of a draft constitutional amendment
in our Report is designed to offer the Legislature a ready-to-use
bill that can be passed without the need to draft legislation from
scratch; it also ensures that there is no misunderstanding or
confusion regarding our proposals. We are hopeful that the
amendment will receive first passage by 2008, second passage in
2009 and be presented to the voters for ratification in November
2009. We urge the Legislature to take up and pass this
constitutional amendment before the conclusion of the current
session so that we can finally start down the path toward change.
“The current structure is too
costly, confusing, and discourages
and impedes litigants,
both private citizens and businesses,
from pursuing their
rights.”
– The Fund for Modern
Courts, January 2007
Second, as detailed in Section Six above, certain
procedural and technological changes will have to be made to
ensure that the restructuring plan we have proposed is consistent
with the codes and technology relied on by the courts. Changes
in this regard are already underway, and the process of
constitutional change is such that there will be a significant lead
time of two to three years before the newly restructured court
system is a reality. We are confident that, during this time, the
necessary amendments to our state’s codes and the adjustments
to the computer systems of the courts can be completed. Once
A Court System for the Future, February 2007 99