Assembly Bill A8976

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Increases the number of city court judges in certain cities and sets forth the annual salary for such city court judges

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Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 13, 2010	reported referred to ways and means
Mar 11, 2010	print number 8976a
Mar 11, 2010	amend and recommit to judiciary
Jan 06, 2010	referred to judiciary
Jun 17, 2009	referred to judiciary

Bill Amendments

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2009-A8976 - Details

Current Committee:: Assembly Ways And Means
Law Section:: Uniform City Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §2104, UCCA; amd §221-i, Judy L
Versions Introduced in 2011-2012 Legislative Session:: A7207

2009-A8976 - Summary

Increases the number of city court judges in certain cities and sets forth the annual salary for such city court judges.

2009-A8976 - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:A8976

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the uniform city court act and the judi-
ciary law, in relation to judges of city courts

This measure is being introduced at the request of the Chief Judge of
the State and the Chief Administrative Judge upon the recommendation of
the latter's Ad Hoc City Court Advisory Committee. It proposes modifica-
tions in many City Court judgeships including, in some instances,
conversion of part-time positions to full-time status. It is a follow-up
to similar legislation enacted in 1988, 1995, 2001 and 2006.

                              I. PROPOSAL

For more than 30 years following the State takeover of local court fund-
ing ( see L. 1976, c. 966; Judiciary Law § 39), the Judiciary and the
Legislature have collaborated closely to ensure that the structure and
resources of the States 61 City Courts outside New York City are well-
suited to community needs. Every four or five years, this Office, with
the assistance of a committee of sitting City Court judges represen-
tative of all regions of the State and courts of varying sizes, under-
takes a detailed study of City Court operations around the State. This
study produces a series of recommendations for reform, which then are
passed on to the Legislature for its approval{1}.

Originally intended as a means by which to permit the Legislature fairly

to determine applications by individual city courts for judgeship
upgrades in light of their new status as State courts, this collab-
oration has grown increasingly more important as the years have gone by
and the City Courts have taken on more prominent and more complex roles
in the criminal justice system. Today, in 2009, these courts are on the
front-line of that system. Along with the Justice Courts, they preside
over nearly all preliminary felony proceedings brought outside New York
City and oversee the prosecution of most of the region's quality of life
offenses. As importantly, City Courts have become a central focus in the
State's twin battles against drug crime and family violence. Across the
State, many of them have been designated as regional Drug Courts to
preside over drug prosecutions commenced both in their respective cities
and in surrounding towns and villages, refashioning the paradigm for
drug crime adjudication and contributing mightily to significant
reductions in recidivism and public expense that judicially-supervised
treatment methodologies - the hallmark of Drug Courts - can offer. At
the same time, some City Courts have been designated as Domestic
Violence courts -giving them critical responsibility for superintending
community response to family violence. Other City Courts have taken on
other specialized responsibilities, such as presiding over mental health
and teen parts, requiring them to go well beyond the traditional passive
roles expected of the local criminal courts.

Notably, what ties all of these assignments together is that each puts
the judge in the crucial position of gatekeeper for fragile lives held
in the balance. In these specialized courts, people who have committed

what typically are low-level offenses appear to be judged, and the
court's ability to do this wisely and creatively can often be the
difference between a productive, law-abiding life and one marked by
greater and more serious crimes.

Even while City Court judges serve these critical roles in the criminal
and family justice arenas, they also must oversee all landlord and
tenant litigation in their communities, as well as all small claims and
commercial claims cases. Moreover, those who are full-time will some-
times be assigned temporarily to service on County or Family Court where
caseload conditions in those courts are such that added judicial
resources are needed.

In short, more so perhaps than as to any other court in our trial court
system, it is vital that City Courts be maintained in a state of maximum
preparedness to cope with their caseloads, As it now is six years since
the Judiciary last reported on the needs of the City Courts and three
years since the last comprehensive legislative action with respect to
these courts, we have commissioned another ad ho.c advisory committee to
study the City Courts and to make recommendations for any needed changes
in their structure. This committee has met over the course of the last
year and now has filed its report and recommendations with us.

This measure would give effect to these recommendations. .They include:

o Increase allocations of five regular part-time judgeships and convert
ten such judgeships to full-time status. Current law provides for one or
more part-time City Court judges in 50 City Courts. See Uniform City
Court Act . 2104(c). In some instances, these judges are intended to
supplement the work of the full-time City Court judge or judges of the
court. In other Courts, where there are no full-time City Court judges,
they perform all the judicial work. In all cases, these part-time judges
are compensated in accordance with a salary scale first fixed by the
Legislature in 1984. Under this scale, as it operates today, part-time
judges are compensated for their service in an amount equal to one-quar-
ter or one-half the salary of a full-time judge. See Judiciary Law
8221-i.  The rate for each position has been fixed in accordance with
prevailing views as to the level of regular service that properly can be
expected of the judge that fills it{2}.

As the Legislature already has recognized, experience has shown that
there is frequent need to revise these allocations and, occasionally, to
change the status of a City Court judgeship from part-time to full-time.
In many instances, changes in local demographics or, more recently, the
nature of the court's workload ( e.g., its assumption of specialty court
responsibilities - responsibilities that magnify its normal workload
exponentially) moot the expectations that were the foundation for a City
Court's judgeship allocation. In most instances, that allocation was the
product of another, past generation, and instituted when caseloads were
smaller and local governments had to bear the costs of City Court oper-
ations.  It does not reflect the reality of those operations in 2009.
Accordingly, as we have done in the past, we now propose a slate of

judgeship adjustments that will bring the City Courts up to date (see
Appendix A for a list). These adjustments include upgrades for selected
one-quarter salaried judgeships and conversion of some 10 part-time
judgeships to full-time status{3}.

o Establish new full-time judgeships. In past submissions of this
nature, we have proposed creation of new judgeships for selected City
Courts. In some instances, court workloads have been such that upgrades
in existing judgeships are neither possible or impractical.  Thus, over
the years, we've asked the Legislature to establish new judgeships in
Syracuse, Albany, Schenectady, Buffalo and Rochester - and the Legisla-
ture has complied. In this measure, we do so again, and for the same
reason, in the cities of Buffalo, Newburgh, Troy and Yonkers.

o Expand residency requirement. Under present law, the general rule is
that each City Court judge must reside in the city in which he or she
serves. There are numerous exceptions to this rule, however. In venues
where experience has demonstrated that it is difficult to find a suffi-
cient pool of lawyers willing to serve on City Court, the Legislature,
with the agreement of local officials, has expanded the residency
requirement, typically to permit the judge of a City Court in one of
those venues to reside anywhere in the surrounding county.  This measure
would add to the list of exceptions the City Court of Watervliet. There,
local officials have expressed a wish that the residency rule permit any
resident of Albany County to be eligible to serve in one of the two
judgeships allocated to the Court.

o Change for appointive to elective status for appointive judgeships in
Ithaca and Lockport. A preponderance of the State's 163 City Court judg-
es are elected. The remainder are appointed .by City Mayors. This year,
at local request - i.e., at the request of the mayor and City Court
judges of each affected City - we are asking that two of the existing
appointive positions be converted to elective.

                              II. PROCESS

The Committee's recommendations for City Court judicial personnel
reflect not only the Committee's consideration of a series of objective
criteria but also a process of statewide consultation with mayors, judg-
es and other stakeholders in the justice system. Among the quantitative
factors the Committee considered in determining the proper allocation of
City Court judgeships are:

* Caseloads - including total cases, cases per capita, and annual civil,
criminal misdemeanor and criminal felony caseload growth trends;

* Demographics - including population changes, economic factors and
crime predictor data that may presage future caseloads;

* Judicial resources - including caseloads per full-time and part-time
judge, the proportion of cases (e.g. Drug Court and Domestic Violence
Court cases) that are resource intensive, the availability of other

judges in the affected City Court and other City Courts in the county,
and the need to temporarily assign a locality's City Court judges to
serve in the County and Family Courts; and

* Facilities - including the suitability and sufficiency of existing
courtrooms and other facilities to accommodate the proposed new and
expanded judgeships.

                               * * * * *

As in the early 1980's, 1994, 1998 and 2003, we offer this proposal
confident that it will best enable City Courts to continue fulfilling
their constitutional mission to provide speedy and efficient justice in
urban communities across New York State. Along with members of our Ad
Hoc Committee, we urge enactment of this measure and look forward to
working with the Legislature to ensure the continued vitality of New
York State's local justice system.

This measure will take effect on April 1, 2010. Accordingly, it will
have no fiscal impact on the State in FY 2009-10.

Legislative History: None. New proposal.

{1} As noted, the Legislature has approved these submissions in the
past. In 1984, it approved a uniform salary structure for part-time City
Court judges, L. 1984, c. 986. In 1988, it approved a series of recom-
mendations including elimination of local city court acts in favor of a
single enabling court statute in the Uniform City Court Act, institution
of a uniform $15,000 jurisdictional ceiling, merger of multiple courts
into a single court in those cities having bifurcated or trifurcated
court structures, creation of some new full-time judgeships, conversion
of some part-time judgeships to full-time status and upgrades in the
status of other part-time judgeships. L. 1988, c. 397. In 1995, the
Legislature again approved recommendations calling for creation of new
judgeships and conversion and upgrading of others. L.  1995, c. 463. In
1998 and 1999, the Legislature approved another recommendation - this
one calling for amendment of section 26 of Article VI of the State
Constitution to permit full-time City Court judges to be assigned to
temporary service on County and Family Courts. In 2001, the Legislature
approved another package of recommendations calling for creation of new
judgeships and conversion and upgrading of others. L. 2001, c. 584. All
of these recommendations were the product of ad hoc committees of City
Court judges assembled by the Judiciary in the early-1980's, 1994, 1998
and 2003, respectively. Most recently, the Legislature approved recom-
mendations yielding creation of further new judgeships and conversion
and upgrading of many others - including elimination of the position of
Acting City Court Judge.

{2} This salary range is between $27,200 and $4,400. While there is no
specific statutory direction that the actual amount of service given by
each judge, as a percentage of his or her work week, correspond to the
fraction of full-time service represented by his or her compensation, it

has informally been the administrative practice over the years to expect
that that be so.

{3}Persons holding the office of full-time City Court judge ore not
permitted to practice law. Note that, prior to filing this measure with
the Legislature, all proposed changes in judgeships were shared with all
City Mayors and City Court judges across the State. All changes are
submitted with the approval of the. Mayors and judges of each city
affected.

                               APPENDIX A
                            TABLE OF CHANGES

City    Present Allocation  Proposed Allocation  When change effective

Albany        4 FT                   5 FT               4/1/10
             1 PT (1/2)

Amsterdam     1 FT                   1 FT               NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Auburn        1 FT                   1 FT               NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Batavia       1 FT                   1 FT               NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Beacon        1 FT                   1 FT               NO CHANGE

              1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Binghamton    2 FT                   2 FT               NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/2)

Buffalo       13 FT                  14 FT               1/1/11

Canandaigua   1 FT                    1 FT              NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/2)              1 PT (1/4)

Cohoes        2 PT (1/2)              2 PT (1/2)        NO CHANGE

Corning       1 FT                    1 FT              NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)              1 PT (1/4)

Cortland      1 FT                    1 FT              NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)              1 PT (1/4)

Dunkirk       1 FT                    1 FT              NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)              1 PT (1/4)

Elmira        2 FT                    2 FT              NO CHANGE

Fulton        1 FT                    1 FT              NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)              1 PT (1/4)

Geneva        1 PT (1/2)              1 PT (1/2)        NO CHANGE
              2 PT (1/4)              2 PT (1/4)

Glen Cove     2 PT (1/2)              2PT (1/2)         NO CHANGE

Glens Falls   1 FT                    1 FT              NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)              1 PT (1/4)

Gloversville  1 FT                    1 FT              NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)              1 PT (1/4)

Hornell       1 PT (1/2)              1 PT (1/2)        NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)              1 PT (1/4)

Hudson        1 PT (1/2)              1 PT (1/2)        NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)              1 PT (1/4)

Ithaca        1 FT                    2 FT               4/1/10
              1 PT (1/2)

Jamestown     1 FT                    2 FT               4/1/10
              1 PT (1/2)

Johnstown     1 PT (1/2)              1 PT (1/2)        NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/4)              1 PT (1/4)

Kingston      1 FT                    1 FT              NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/2)              1 PT (1/2)

Lackawanna    1 FT                    1 FT              NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/2)              1 PT (1/2)

Little Falls  2 PT (1/4)              2 PT (1/4)        NO CHANGE

Lockport      1 FT                    2 FT               4/1/10
              1 PT (1/2)

Long Beach    2 FT                    2 FT              NO CHANGE

Mechanicville 2 PT (1/4)              2 PT (1/4)        NO CHANGE

Middletown    1 FT                    2 FT               4/1/10
              1 PT (1/2)

Mount Vernon  3 FT                    3 FT              NO CHANGE
              1 PT (1/2)              1 PT (1/2)

Newburgh      2 FT                    3 FT               1/1/11

New Rochelle  2 FT                    3 FT               4/1/10
              1 PT (1/2)

Niagara Falls 4 FT                    4 FT              NO CHANGE

North Tonawanda 1 FT                  1 FT              NO CHANGE
               1 PT (1/2)             1 PT (1/2)

Norwich        1 PT (1/2)             1 FT               4/1/10
               1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Ogdensburg     1 FT                   1 FT              NO CHANGE
               1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Olean          1 FT                   1 FT              NO CHANGE
               1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Oneida         1 PT (1/2)             1 FT                4/1/10
               1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Oneonta        1 PT (1/2)             1 PT (1/2)        NO CHANGE
               1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Oswego         1 FT                   1 FT              NO CHANGE
               1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Peekskill      1 FT                   1 FT              NO CHANGE
               1 PT (1/2)             1 PT (1/2)

Plattsburgh    1 FT                   1 FT              NO CHANGE
               1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Port Jervis    1 PT (1/2)             1 PT (1/2)         4/1/10
               1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/2)

Poughkeepsie   2 FT                   2 FT              NO CHANGE

Rensselaer     1 PT (1/2)             1 PT (1/2)        NO CHANGE
               1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Rochester      9 FT                   9 FT              NO CHANGE

Rome           1 FT                   2 FT               4/1/10
               1 PT (1/4)

Rye            1 FT                   1 FT               4/1/10
               1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/2)

Salamanca      2 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/2)         4/1/10
                                      1 PT (1/4)

Saratoga Springs 1 FT                 2 FT               4/1/10

               1 PT (1/2)

Schenectady    3 FT                   3 FT              NO CHANGE

Sherrill       1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)        NO CHANGE

Syracuse       8 FT                   8 FT              NO CHANGE

Tonawanda      1 FT                   1 FT              NO CHANGE
               1 PT (1/2)             1 PT (1/2)

Troy           1 FT                   2 FT                1/1/I1
               1 PT (3/4)             1 PT (3/4)

Utica          3 FT                   3 FT              NO CHANGE

Watertown      1 FT                   1 FT              NO CHANGE
               1 PT (1/4)             1 PT (1/4)

Watervliet     1 PT (1/2)             2 PT (1/2)          4/1/10
1 PT (*)

White Plains   3 FT                   3 FT              NO CHANGE
               1 PT (1/2)             1 PT (1/2)

Yonkers        6 FT                   7 FT                 1/1/11

2009-A8976 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  8976

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              June 17, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. CANESTRARI, McENENY, WEINSTEIN -- (at request of
  the Office of Court Administration) -- read once and referred  to  the
  Committee on Judiciary

AN  ACT  to  amend  the uniform city court act and the judiciary law, in
  relation to judges of city courts

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Paragraph  1  of  subdivision  (b) of section 2104 of the
uniform city court act, as amended by chapter 493 of the laws  of  2006,
is amended to read as follows:
  (1) be an attorney admitted to practice law in this state for at least
five  years as of the date he or she commences the duties of office, and
be a resident of the city in which he or she is  elected  or  appointed,
except that the judges of the Sherrill city court may reside anywhere in
either  Oneida  or  Madison counties, the city court judge who serves in
the office that formerly was that of acting judge  of  the  Oneida  city
court may reside anywhere in Madison county, the judges of the Peekskill
city  court  may  reside  anywhere in Westchester county, the city court
judge who serves in the office that formerly was that of acting judge of
the Port Jervis city court may reside anywhere  in  either  Sullivan  or
Orange counties, the judges of the Hudson city court may reside anywhere
in  Columbia  county, the city court judge who serves in the office that
formerly was that of acting judge of the Mechanicville  city  court  may
reside  anywhere  in  Saratoga county, the judges of the Ogdensburg city
court may reside anywhere in St. Lawrence  county,  the  judges  of  the
Rensselaer  city  court may reside anywhere in Rensselaer county and one
judge of the Cohoes city court AND THE CITY COURT JUDGE  WHO  SERVES  IN
THE OFFICE THAT FORMERLY WAS THAT OF ACTING JUDGE OF THE WATERVLIET CITY
COURT may reside anywhere in Albany county.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD14196-04-9

A. 8976                             2

  S 2. Subdivision (d) of section 2104 of the uniform city court act, as
amended  by  chapter  493  of  the  laws  of 2006, is amended to read as
follows:
  (d)  The  number  of judges of the city court in each city shall be as
provided herein. Full-time judgeships are  specifically  so  designated,
all others are part-time:
   Par.   Name of city
   1    Albany, [four] FIVE full-time [and one part-time];
   2    Amsterdam, one full-time and one part-time;
   3    Auburn, one full-time and one part-time;
   4    Batavia, one full-time and one part-time;
   5    Beacon, one full-time and one part-time;
   6    Binghamton, two full-time and one part-time;
   7    Buffalo, [thirteen] FOURTEEN full-time;
   8    Canandaigua, one full-time and one part-time;
   9    Cohoes, two;
   10   Corning, one full-time and one part-time;
   11   Cortland, one full-time and one part-time;
   12   Dunkirk, one full-time and one part-time;
   13   Elmira, two full-time;
   14   Fulton, one full-time and one part-time;
   15   Geneva, three;
   16   Glen Cove, two;
   17   Glens Falls, one full-time and one part-time;
   18   Gloversville, one full-time and one part-time;
   19   Hornell, two;
   20   Hudson, two;
   21   Ithaca, [one] TWO full-time [and one part-time];
   22   Jamestown, [one] TWO full-time [and one part-time];
   23   Johnstown, two;
   24   Kingston, one full-time and one part-time;
   25   Lackawanna, one full-time and one part-time;
   26   Little Falls, two;
   27   Lockport, [one] TWO full-time [and one part-time];
   28   Long Beach, two full-time;
   29   Mechanicville, two;
   30   Middletown, [one] TWO full-time [and one part-time];
   31   Mount Vernon, three full-time and one part-time;
   32   Newburgh, [two] THREE full-time;
   33   New Rochelle, [two] THREE full-time [and one part-time];
   34   Niagara Falls, four full-time;
   35   North Tonawanda, one full-time and one part-time;
   36   Norwich, [two] ONE FULL-TIME AND ONE PART-TIME;
   37   Ogdensburg, one full-time and one part-time;
   38   Olean, one full-time and one part-time;
   39   Oneida, [two] ONE FULL-TIME AND ONE PART-TIME;
   40   Oneonta, two;
   41   Oswego, one full-time and one part-time;
   42   Peekskill, one full-time and one part-time;
   43   Plattsburgh, one full-time and one part-time;
   44   Port Jervis, two;
   45   Poughkeepsie, two full-time;
   46   Rensselaer, two;
   47   Rochester, nine full-time;
   48   Rome, [one] TWO full-time [and one part-time];
   49   Rye, one full-time and one part-time;

A. 8976                             3

   50   Salamanca, two;
   51   Saratoga Springs, [one] TWO full-time [and one part-time];
   52   Schenectady, three full-time;
   53   Sherrill, one;
   54   Syracuse, eight full-time;
   55   Tonawanda, one full-time and one part-time;
   56   Troy, [one] TWO full-time and one part-time;
   57   Utica, three full-time;
   58   Watertown, one full-time and one part-time;
   59   Watervliet, two;
   60   White Plains, three full-time and one part-time;
   61   Yonkers, [six] SEVEN full-time.
  S  3.  Subparagraph  (i)  of paragraph 1 of subdivision (e) of section
2104 of the uniform city court act, as amended by  chapter  493  of  the
laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
  (i)  by  the  mayor of the city for which the court on which he or she
will serve has been established, with the advice and consent of the city
council: part-time city court judge  of  Beacon,  part-time  city  court
judge of Corning, part-time city court judge of Cortland, part-time city
court judge of Gloversville, city court judge of Glen Cove who serves in
the office that on June first, two thousand one was an appointive office
pursuant  to  this  subparagraph, [part-time city court judge of Ithaca,
part-time] city court judge of Jamestown WHO SERVES IN THE  OFFICE  THAT
ON JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND NINE WAS AN APPOINTIVE OFFICE PURSUANT TO
THIS SUBPARAGRAPH, part-time city court judge of Olean, city court judg-
es  of  Plattsburgh,  city  court judge of Port Jervis who serves in the
office that formerly was that of acting city court judge of Port Jervis,
city court judges of Rye, city court judge of Salamanca  who  serves  in
the office that formerly was that of acting city court judge of Salaman-
ca and the part-time city court judge of Watertown.
  S  4.  The  opening  paragraph of subparagraph (iii) of paragraph 1 of
subdivision (e) of section 2104  of  the  uniform  city  court  act,  as
amended  by  chapter  493  of  the  laws  of 2006, is amended to read as
follows:
  by the mayor of the city for which the court on which he or  she  will
serve  has  been  established: part-time city court judge of Binghamton,
city court judges of Cohoes, part-time  city  court  judge  of  Dunkirk,
part-time  city  court  judge  of Fulton, city court judge of Geneva who
serves in the office that formerly was that of acting city  court  judge
of  Geneva,  city  court  judge of Hornell who serves in the office that
formerly was that of acting city court  judge  of  Hornell,  city  court
judge  of  Hudson  who  serves  in  the office that formerly was that of
acting city court judge of Hudson, part-time city court judge  of  King-
ston,  part-time  city  court  judge  of Lackawanna, city court judge of
Little Falls who serves in the office that formerly was that  of  acting
CITY  court  judge of Little Falls, [part-time city court judge of Lock-
port,] city court judge of Mechanicville who serves in the  office  that
formerly  was  that  of acting city court judge of Mechanicville, [part-
time] city court judge of Middletown WHO SERVES IN THE  OFFICE  THAT  ON
JANUARY  FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND  NINE WAS PART-TIME, part-time city court
judge of Mount Vernon, [part-time] city  court  [judge]  JUDGES  of  New
Rochelle  [and full-time city court judge of such city who serves in the
office created during the calendar year commencing  January  first,  two
thousand  one]  WHO SERVE IN OFFICES THAT ON JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND
NINE WERE APPOINTIVE OFFICES PURSUANT TO  THIS  SUBPARAGRAPH,  part-time
city  court  judge  of  North  Tonawanda,  part-time city court judge of

A. 8976                             4

Ogdensburg, city court judge of Oneida who serves  in  the  office  that
[formerly  was  that  of  acting  city court judge of Oneida] ON JANUARY
FIRST, TWO THOUSAND NINE WAS  AN  APPOINTIVE  OFFICE  PURSUANT  TO  THIS
SUBPARAGRAPH,  city court judge of Oneonta who serves in the office that
formerly was that of acting city court judge of Oneonta, part-time  city
court  judge  of  Oswego,  city court judges of Poughkeepsie, city court
judge of Rensselaer who serves in the office that formerly was  that  of
acting  city  court judge of Rensselaer, [part-time] city court judge of
Saratoga Springs WHO SERVES IN THE OFFICE THAT  ON  JANUARY  FIRST,  TWO
THOUSAND  NINE  WAS  AN APPOINTIVE OFFICE PURSUANT TO THIS SUBPARAGRAPH,
part-time city court judge of Tonawanda and city court judge of  Waterv-
liet  who  serves  in  the  office that formerly was that of acting city
court judge of Watervliet.   Provided, however,  the  following  special
provisions shall be applicable in the city of Poughkeepsie:
  S  5. Section 221-i of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter 493 of
the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
  S 221-i. Salary of judges of the city courts outside the city  of  New
York.  The  annual salary of each judge of a city court outside the city
of New York shall be as follows (where this section  provides  different
salaries for judicial positions on the same court having the same title,
the  greater  salary  shall be paid the person holding the position paid
the greater salary on the day immediately preceding  the  day  on  which
such salaries took effect):

City                Title

Albany              City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
[Albany             City Court Judge                   54,400]
Amsterdam           City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Amsterdam           City Court Judge                   27,200
Auburn              City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Auburn              City Court Judge                   27,200
Batavia             City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Batavia             City Court Judge                   27,200
Beacon              City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Beacon              City Court Judge                   27,200
Binghamton          City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Binghamton          City Court Judge                   54,400
Buffalo             Chief Judge (FT)                   115,100
Buffalo             City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
Canandaigua         City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Canandaigua         City Court Judge                   27,200
Cohoes              City Court Judge                   54,400
Corning             City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Corning             City Court Judge                   27,200
Cortland            City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Cortland            City Court Judge                   [27,200] 54,400
Dunkirk             City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Dunkirk             City Court Judge                   27,200
Elmira              City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Fulton              City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Fulton              City Court Judge                   27,200
Geneva              City Court Judge                   54,400
Geneva              City Court Judge                   27,200
Glen Cove           City Court Judge                   54,400
Gloversville        City Court Judge (FT)              108,800

A. 8976                             5

Gloversville        City Court Judge                   27,200
Glens Falls         City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Glens Falls         City Court Judge                   27,200
Hornell             City Court Judge                   54,400
Hornell             City Court Judge                   27,200
Hudson              City Court Judge                   54,400
Hudson              City Court Judge                   27,200
Ithaca              City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
[Ithaca             City Court Judge                   54,400]
Jamestown           City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
[Jamestown          City Court Judge                   54,400]
Johnstown           City Court Judge                   54,400
Johnstown           City Court Judge                   27,200
Kingston            City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Kingston            City Court Judge                   54,400
Lackawanna          City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Lackawanna          City Court Judge                   54,400
Lockport            City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
[Lockport           City Court Judge                   54,400]
Long Beach          City Court Judge (FT)              118,300
Little Falls        City Court Judge                   27,200
Mechanicville       City Court Judge                   27,200
Middletown          City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
[Middletown         City Court Judge                   54,400]
Mount Vernon        City Court Judge (FT)              118,300
Mount Vernon        City Court Judge                   54,400
Newburgh            City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Niagara Falls       Chief Judge (FT)                   115,100
Niagara Falls       City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
Norwich             City Court Judge (FT)              [54,400] 108,800
Norwich             City Court Judge                   27,200
New Rochelle        City Court Judge (FT)              118,300
[New Rochelle       City Court Judge                   54,400]
North Tonawanda     City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
North Tonawanda     City Court Judge                   54,400
Ogdensburg          City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Ogdensburg          City Court Judge                   27,200
Olean               City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Olean               City Court Judge                   27,200
Oneida              City Court Judge (FT)              [54,400] 108,800
Oneida              City Court Judge                   27,200
Oneonta             City Court Judge                   54,400
Oneonta             City Court Judge                   27,200
Oswego              City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Oswego              City Court Judge                   27,200
Peekskill           City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Peekskill           City Court Judge                   54,400
Poughkeepsie        City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Plattsburgh         City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Plattsburgh         City Court Judge                   27,200
Port Jervis         City Court Judge                   54,400
[Port Jervis        City Court Judge                   27,200]
Rensselaer          City Court Judge                   54,400
Rensselaer          City Court Judge                   27,200
Rochester           Chief Judge (FT)                   115,100
Rochester           City Court Judge (FT)              113,900

A. 8976                             6

Rome                City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
[Rome               City Court Judge                   54,400]
Rye                 City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Rye                 City Court Judge                   [27,200] 54,400
Salamanca           City Court Judge                   54,400
SALAMANCA           CITY COURT JUDGE                   27,200
Saratoga Springs    City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
[Saratoga Springs   City Court Judge                   54,400]
Schenectady         City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Sherrill            City Court Judge                   27,200
Syracuse            Chief Judge (FT)                   115,100
Syracuse            City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
Tonawanda           City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Tonawanda           City Court Judge                   54,400
Troy                City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
Troy                City Court Judge                   81,600
Utica               Chief Judge (FT)                   115,100
Utica               City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
Watertown           City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Watertown           City Court Judge                   27,200
Watervliet          City Court Judge                   54,400
[Watervliet         City Court Judge                   27,200]
White Plains        City Court Judge (FT)              116,800
White Plains        City Court Judge                   54,400
Yonkers             Chief Judge (FT)                   119,500
Yonkers             City Court Judge (FT)              118,300
  S  6.  Transition.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision of law, for
purposes of this act:
  (a) On the effective date of this section:
  (i) each of the following part-time judgeships shall be abolished  and
replaced  by  a  full-time  judgeship: the part-time city court judge of
Albany, the part-time city court judge of  Ithaca,  the  part-time  city
court  judge  of  Jamestown, the part-time city court judge of Lockport,
the part-time city judge of Middletown, the part-time city  court  judge
of  New Rochelle, the part-time city court judge of Norwich whose office
is paid the greater compensation on such date, the part-time city  court
judge  of  Oneida  whose office is paid the greater compensation on such
date, the part-time city court judge of  Rome  and  the  part-time  city
court judge of Saratoga Springs. Each person in a judgeship abolished by
this  subdivision  shall  continue in service in the full-time judgeship
that replaces such abolished judgeship hereunder for  the  remainder  of
the  term  of  office  to which he or she was selected in such abolished
judgeship; and
  (ii) the office of the part-time city court judge of Salamanca  senior
in  service  on  such  date  shall  receive the increase in compensation
provided in section 221-i of the judiciary law  as  amended  by  section
five of this act.
  (b)  The  new  offices  of full-time city court judge in the cities of
Buffalo, Newburgh, Troy and Yonkers, respectively, shall first be filled
by election at the next general election at which they can be filled for
a full term to commence January first next thereafter.
  (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, upon  the  aboli-
tion  of  the  office of part-time city court judge in the city of Lock-
port, pursuant to paragraph (i) of subdivision (a) of this section,  the
office  of  full-time  judgeship  that replaces such part-time judgeship
shall be elective except that, when such full-time  judgeship  is  first

A. 8976                             7

filled  for a full term, on or after the effective date of this section,
it shall be filled by appointment by the mayor of the city  of  Lockport
for a term that will end on the thirty-first of December next succeeding
ten  years from the date such term shall commence; provided, however, if
a vacancy shall occur during such term, the office shall  be  filled  in
the  manner provided by subparagraph (i) of paragraph two of subdivision
(e) of section two thousand one hundred four of the uniform  city  court
act.
  S  7.  (a)  In the event that the compensation to be paid a judge of a
city court, as prescribed by this act or any other provision of law,  is
lower  than  the compensation being paid such judge immediately prior to
the effective date of this section, such judge shall, for as long as  he
or  she holds the office in which he or she is serving on such effective
date, receive such higher compensation (plus any  increases  thereto  as
shall thereafter be provided by law).
  (b)  Notwithstanding  any  provision  of  this act, this act shall not
extend or diminish any term of judicial office commenced  prior  to  the
effective date of this section.
  S  8. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law; provided, however, that no
changes in the number or compensation of judges, as provided in sections
two and five of this act, may take effect in a city in which a full-time
judgeship replaces a part-time judgeship  pursuant  to  this  act  until
authorized under section six of this act.

co-Sponsors

2009-A8976A (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Assembly Ways And Means
Law Section:: Uniform City Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §2104, UCCA; amd §221-i, Judy L
Versions Introduced in 2011-2012 Legislative Session:: A7207

2009-A8976A (ACTIVE) - Summary

Increases the number of city court judges in certain cities and sets forth the annual salary for such city court judges.

2009-A8976A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:A8976A

TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the uniform city court act and the judiciary law, in
relation to judges of city courts

This measure is being introduced at the request of the Chief Judge of
the State and the Chief Administrative Judge upon the recommendation of
the latter's Ad Hoc City Court Advisory Committee. It proposes modifica-
tions in many City Court judgeships including, in some instances,
conversion of part-time positions to full-time status. It is a follow-up
to similar legislation enacted in 1988, 1995, 2001 and 2006.

I. PROPOSAL

For more than 30 years following the State takeover of local court fund-
ing (see L.  1976, c. 966; Judiciary Law § 39), the Judiciary and the
Legislature have collaborated closely to ensure that the structure and
resources of the State's 61 City Courts outside New York City are well-
suited to community needs. Every four or five years, this Office, with
the assistance of a committee of sitting City Court judges represen-
tative of all regions of the State and courts of varying sizes, under-
takes a detailed study of City Court operations around the State. This
study produces a series of recommendations for reform, which then are
passed on to the Legislature for its approval(1).

Originally intended as a means by which to permit the Legislature fairly
to determine applications by individual city courts for judgeship
upgrades in light of their new status as State courts, this collab-
oration has grown increasingly more important as the years have gone by
and the City Courts have taken on more prominent and more complex roles
in the criminal justice system. Today, in 2009, these courts are on the
front-line of that system. Along with the Justice Courts, they preside
over nearly all preliminary felony proceedings brought outside New York
City and oversee the prosecution of most of the region's quality of life
offenses. As importantly, City Courts have become a central focus in the
State's twin battles against drug crime and family violence. Across the
State, many of them have been designated as regional Drug Courts to
preside over drug prosecutions commenced both in their respective cities
and in surrounding towns and villages, refashioning the paradigm for
drug crime adjudication and contributing mightily to significant
reductions in recidivism and public expense that judicially-supervised
treatment methodologies - the hallmark of Drug Courts - can offer.  At
the same time, some City Courts have been designated as Domestic
Violence courts giving them critical responsibility for superintending
community response to family violence. Other City Courts have taken on
other specialized responsibilities, such as presiding over mental health
and teen parts, requiring them to go well beyond the traditional passive
roles expected of the local criminal courts.

Notably, what ties all of these assignments together is that each puts
the judge in the crucial position of gatekeeper for fragile lives held
in the balance. In these specialized courts, people who have committed
what typically are low-level offenses appear to be judged, and the
court's ability to do this wisely and creatively can often be the
difference between a productive, law-abiding life and one marked by
greater and more serious crimes.

Even while City Court judges serve these critical roles in the criminal
and family justice arenas, they also must oversee all landlord and
tenant litigation in their communities, as well as all small claims and
commercial claims cases. Moreover, those who are full-time will some-
times be assigned temporarily to service on County or Family Court where
caseload conditions in those courts are such that added judicial
resources are needed.

In short, more so perhaps than as to any other court in our trial court
system, it is vital that City Courts be maintained in a state of maximum
preparedness to cope with their caseloads. As it now is six years since
the Judiciary last reported on the needs of the City Courts and three
years since the last comprehensive legislative action with respect to
these courts, we have commissioned another ad hoc advisory committee to
study the City Courts and to make recommendations for any needed changes
in their structure. This committee has met over the course of the last
year and now has filed its report and recommendations with us.

This measure would give effect to these recommendations. They include:

* Increase allocations of four regular part-time judgeships and convert
ten such judgeships to full-time status:
Current law provides for one or more part-time City Court judges in 50
City Courts. See Uniform City Court Act § 2104(c). In some instances,
these judges are intended to supplement the work of the full-time City
Court judge or judges of the court. In other Courts, where there are no
full-time City Court judges, they perform all the judicial work. In all
cases, these part-time judges are compensated in accordance with a sala-
ry scale first fixed by the Legislature in 1984. Under this scale, as it
operates today, part-time judges are compensated for their service in an
amount equal to one-quarter or one-half the salary of a full-time judge.
See Judiciary Law §221-i. The rate for each position has been fixed in
accordance with prevailing views as to the level of regular service that
properly can be expected of the judge that fills it (2).

As the Legislature already has recognized, experience has shown that
there is frequent need to revise these allocations and, occasionally, to
change the status of a City Court judgeship from part-time to full-time.
In many instances, changes in local demographics or, more recently, the
nature of the court's workload (e.g., its assumption of specialty court
responsibilities - responsibilities that magnify its normal workload
exponentially) moot the expectations that were the foundation for a City
Court's judgeship allocation. In most instances, that allocation was the
product of another, past generation, and instituted when caseloads were

smaller and local governments had to bear the costs of City Court oper-
ations.  It does not reflect the reality of those operations in 2009.
Accordingly, as we have done in the past, we now propose a slate of
judgeship adjustments that will bring the City Courts up to date (see
Appendix A for a list). These adjustments include upgrades for selected
one-quarter salaried judgeships and conversion of some 10 part-time
judgeships to full-time status (3).

* Establish new full-time judgeships:
In past submissions of this nature, we have proposed creation of new
judgeships for selected City Courts. In some instances, court workloads
have been such that upgrades in existing judgeships are neither possible
or impractical.  Thus, over the years, we've asked the Legislature to
establish new judgeships in Syracuse, Albany, Schenectady, Buffalo and
Rochester - and the Legislature has complied. In this measure, we do so
again, and for the same reason, in the cities of Buffalo, Newburgh, Troy
and Yonkers.

* Expand residency requirement:
Under present law, the general rule is that each City Court judge must
reside in the city in which he or she serves. There are numerous
exceptions to this rule, however. In venues where experience has demon-
strated that it is difficult to find a sufficient pool of lawyers will-
ing to serve on City Court, the Legislature, with the agreement of local
officials, has expanded the residency requirement, typically to permit
the judge of a City Court in one of those venues to reside anywhere in
the surrounding county.  This measure would add to the list of
exceptions the City Court of Watervliet. There, local officials have
expressed a wish that the residency rule permit any resident of Albany
County to be eligible to serve in one of the two judgeships allocated to
the Court.

* Change from appointive to elective status for the appointive judge-
ships in Ithaca and Lockport:
A preponderance of the State's 163 City Court judges are elected.  The
remainder are appointed by City Mayors. This year, at local request -
i.e., at the request of the mayor and City Court judges of each affected
City - we are asking that two of the existing appointive positions be
converted to elective.

II. PROCESS

The Committee's recommendations for City Court judicial personnel
reflect not only the Committee's consideration of a series of objective
criteria but also a process of statewide consultation with mayors, judg-
es and other stakeholders in the justice system.  Among the quantitative
factors the Committee considered in determining the proper allocation of
City Court judgeships are:

* Caseloads - including total cases, cases per capita, and annual civil,
criminal misdemeanor and criminal felony caseload growth trends;

* Demographics - including population changes, economic factors and
crime predictor data that may presage future caseloads;

* Judicial resources - including caseloads per full-time and part-time
judge, the proportion of cases (e.g. Drug Court and Domestic Violence
Court cases) that are resource intensive, the availability of other
judges in the affected City Court and other City Courts in the county,
and the need to temporarily assign a locality's City Court judges to
serve in the County and Family Courts; and

* Facilities - including the suitability and sufficiency of existing
courtrooms and other facilities to accommodate the proposed new and
expanded judgeships.

As in the early 1980's, 1994, 1998 and 2003, we offer this proposal
confident that it will best enable City Courts to continue fulfilling
their constitutional mission to provide speedy and efficient justice in
urban communities across New York State. Along with members of our Ad
Hoc Committee, we urge enactment of this measure and look forward to
working with the Legislature to ensure the continued vitality of New
York State's local justice system.

This measure will take effect on April 1, 2011. Accordingly, it will
have no fiscal impact on the State in FY 2010-11.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None. New proposal.

FOOTNOTES:
(1) As noted, the Legislature has approved these submissions in the
past. In 1984, it approved a uniform salary structure for part-time City
Court judges. L. 1984, c. 986. In 1988, it approved a series of recom-
mendations including elimination of local city court acts in favor of a
single enabling court statute in the Uniform City Court Act, institution
of a uniform $15,000 jurisdictional ceiling, merger of multiple courts
into a single court in those cities having bifurcated or trifurcated
court structures, creation of some new full-time judgeships, conversion
of some part-time judgeships to full-time status and upgrades in the
status of other part-time judgeships. L. 1988, c. 397. In 1995, the
Legislature again approved recommendations calling for creation of new
judgeships and conversion and upgrading of others. L.  1995, c. 463. In
1998 and 1999, the Legislature approved another recommendation - this
one calling for amendment of section 26 of Article VI of the State
Constitution to permit full-time City Court judges to be assigned to
temporary service on County and Family Courts. In 2001, the Legislature
approved another package of recommendations calling for creation of new
judgeships and conversion and upgrading of others. L. 2001, c. 584. All
of these recommendations were the product of ad hoc committees of City
Court judges assembled by the Judiciary in the early-1980's, 1994, 1998

and 2003, respectively. Most recently, the Legislature approved recom-
mendations yielding creation of further new judgeships and conversion
and upgrading of many others - including elimination of the position of
Acting City Court Judge.

(2) This salary range is between $27,200 and $54,400. While there is no
specific statutory direction that the actual amount of service given by
each judge, as a percentage of his or her work week, correspond to the
fraction of full-time service represented by his or her compensation, it
has informally been the administrative practice over the years to expect
that that be so.

(3) Persons holding the office of full-time City Court judge are not
permitted to practice law.  Note that, prior to filing this measure with
the Legislature, all proposed changes in judgeships were shared with all
City Mayors and City Court judges across the State. All changes are
submitted with the approval of the Mayors and judges of each city
affected.

APPENDIX A
TABLE OF CHANGES
City          Present      Proposed
              Allocation   Allocation       When Change Effective

Albany        4FT          5FT              4/1/11
              1PT(1/2)

Amsterdam     1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Auburn        1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Batavia       1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Beacon        1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Binghamton    2FT          2FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)

Buffalo       13FT         14FT             1/1/12

Canandaigua   1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Cohoes        2PT(1/2)     2PT(1/2)         NO CHANGE

Corning       1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Cortland      1FT          1FT              4/1/11
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/2)

Dunkirk       1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Elmira        2FT          2FT              NO CHANGE

Fulton        1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Geneva        1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)         NO CHANGE
              2PT(1/4)     2PT(1/4)

Glen Cove     2PT(1/2)     2PT(1/2)         NO CHANGE

Glens Falls   1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Gloversville  1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Hornell       1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)         NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Hudson        1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)         NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Ithaca        1FT          2FT              4/1/11
              1PT(1/2)

Jamestown     1FT          2FT              4/1/11
              1PT(1/2)

Johnstown     1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)         NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Kingston      1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)

Lackawanna    1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)

Little Falls  2PT(1/4)     2PT(1/4)         NO CHANGE

Lockport      1FT          2FT              4/1/11
              1PT(1/2)

Long Beach    2FT          2FT              NO CHANGE

Mechanic-
ville         2PT(1/4)     2PT(1/4)         NO CHANGE

Middletown    1FT          2FT              4/1/11
              1PT(1/2)

Mt. Vernon    3FT          3FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)

Newburgh      2FT          3FT              1/1/12

New
Rochelle      2FT          3FT              4/1/11
              1PT(1/2)

Niagara Falls 4FT          4FT              NO CHANGE

N. Tonawanda  1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)

Norwich       1PT(1/2)     1FT              4/1/11
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Ogdensburg    1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Olean         1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Oneida        1PT(1/2)     1FT              4/1/11
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Oneonta       1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)         NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Oswego        1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Peekskill     1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)

Plattsburgh   1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Port Jervis   1PT(1/2)     1PT (1/2         4/1/11
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/2)

Poughkeepsie  2FT          2FT              NO CHANGE

Rensselaer    1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)         NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Rochester     9FT          9FT              NO CHANGE

Rome          1FT          2FT              4/1/11

              1PT(1/4)

Rye           1FT          1FT              4/1/11
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/2)

Salamanca     2PT(1/4)     1PT(1/2)         4/1/11
                           1PT(1/4)

Saratoga      1FT          2FT              4/1/11
Springs       1PT(1/2)

Schenectady   3FT          3FT              NO CHANGE

Sherrill      1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)         NO CHANGE

Syracuse      8FT          8FT              NO CHANGE

Tonawanda     1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)

Troy          1FT          2FT              1/1/12
              1PT(3/4)     1PT(3/4)

Utica         3FT          3FT              NO CHANGE

Watertown     1FT          1FT              NO CHANGE
              1PT(1/4)     1PT(1/4)

Watervliet    1PT(1/2)     2PT(1/2)         4/1/11
              1PT(1/4)

White Plains  3FT          4FT              4/1/11
              1PT(1/2)     1PT(1/2)

Yonkers        6FT         7FT              1/1/12

2009-A8976A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 8976--A

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              June 17, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. CANESTRARI, McENENY, WEINSTEIN -- (at request of
  the Office of Court Administration) -- read once and referred  to  the
  Committee on Judiciary -- recommitted to the Committee on Judiciary in
  accordance  with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
  amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
  tee

AN  ACT  to  amend  the uniform city court act and the judiciary law, in
  relation to judges of city courts

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Paragraph  1  of  subdivision  (b) of section 2104 of the
uniform city court act, as amended by chapter 493 of the laws  of  2006,
is amended to read as follows:
  (1) be an attorney admitted to practice law in this state for at least
five  years as of the date he or she commences the duties of office, and
be a resident of the city in which he or she is  elected  or  appointed,
except that the judges of the Sherrill city court may reside anywhere in
either  Oneida  or  Madison counties, the city court judge who serves in
the office that formerly was that of acting judge  of  the  Oneida  city
court may reside anywhere in Madison county, the judges of the Peekskill
city  court  may  reside  anywhere in Westchester county, the city court
judge who serves in the office that formerly was that of acting judge of
the Port Jervis city court may reside anywhere  in  either  Sullivan  or
Orange counties, the judges of the Hudson city court may reside anywhere
in  Columbia  county, the city court judge who serves in the office that
formerly was that of acting judge of the Mechanicville  city  court  may
reside  anywhere  in  Saratoga county, the judges of the Ogdensburg city
court may reside anywhere in St. Lawrence  county,  the  judges  of  the
Rensselaer  city  court may reside anywhere in Rensselaer county and one
judge of the Cohoes city court AND THE CITY COURT JUDGE  WHO  SERVES  IN

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD14196-06-0

A. 8976--A                          2

THE OFFICE THAT FORMERLY WAS THAT OF ACTING JUDGE OF THE WATERVLIET CITY
COURT may reside anywhere in Albany county.
  S 2. Subdivision (d) of section 2104 of the uniform city court act, as
amended  by  chapter  493  of  the  laws  of 2006, is amended to read as
follows:
  (d) The number of judges of the city court in each city  shall  be  as
provided  herein.  Full-time  judgeships are specifically so designated,
all others are part-time:
   Par.   Name of city
   1    Albany, [four] FIVE full-time [and one part-time];
   2    Amsterdam, one full-time and one part-time;
   3    Auburn, one full-time and one part-time;
   4    Batavia, one full-time and one part-time;
   5    Beacon, one full-time and one part-time;
   6    Binghamton, two full-time and one part-time;
   7    Buffalo, [thirteen] FOURTEEN full-time;
   8    Canandaigua, one full-time and one part-time;
   9    Cohoes, two;
   10   Corning, one full-time and one part-time;
   11   Cortland, one full-time and one part-time;
   12   Dunkirk, one full-time and one part-time;
   13   Elmira, two full-time;
   14   Fulton, one full-time and one part-time;
   15   Geneva, three;
   16   Glen Cove, two;
   17   Glens Falls, one full-time and one part-time;
   18   Gloversville, one full-time and one part-time;
   19   Hornell, two;
   20   Hudson, two;
   21   Ithaca, [one] TWO full-time [and one part-time];
   22   Jamestown, [one] TWO full-time [and one part-time];
   23   Johnstown, two;
   24   Kingston, one full-time and one part-time;
   25   Lackawanna, one full-time and one part-time;
   26   Little Falls, two;
   27   Lockport, [one] TWO full-time [and one part-time];
   28   Long Beach, two full-time;
   29   Mechanicville, two;
   30   Middletown, [one] TWO full-time [and one part-time];
   31   Mount Vernon, three full-time and one part-time;
   32   Newburgh, [two] THREE full-time;
   33   New Rochelle, [two] THREE full-time [and one part-time];
   34   Niagara Falls, four full-time;
   35   North Tonawanda, one full-time and one part-time;
   36   Norwich, [two] ONE FULL-TIME AND ONE PART-TIME;
   37   Ogdensburg, one full-time and one part-time;
   38   Olean, one full-time and one part-time;
   39   Oneida, [two] ONE FULL-TIME AND ONE PART-TIME;
   40   Oneonta, two;
   41   Oswego, one full-time and one part-time;
   42   Peekskill, one full-time and one part-time;
   43   Plattsburgh, one full-time and one part-time;
   44   Port Jervis, two;
   45   Poughkeepsie, two full-time;
   46   Rensselaer, two;
   47   Rochester, nine full-time;

A. 8976--A                          3

   48   Rome, [one] TWO full-time [and one part-time];
   49   Rye, one full-time and one part-time;
   50   Salamanca, two;
   51   Saratoga Springs, [one] TWO full-time [and one part-time];
   52   Schenectady, three full-time;
   53   Sherrill, one;
   54   Syracuse, eight full-time;
   55   Tonawanda, one full-time and one part-time;
   56   Troy, [one] TWO full-time and one part-time;
   57   Utica, three full-time;
   58   Watertown, one full-time and one part-time;
   59   Watervliet, two;
   60   White Plains, [three] FOUR full-time [and one part-time];
   61   Yonkers, [six] SEVEN full-time.
  S  3.  Subparagraph  (i)  of paragraph 1 of subdivision (e) of section
2104 of the uniform city court act, as amended by  chapter  493  of  the
laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
  (i)  by  the  mayor of the city for which the court on which he or she
will serve has been established, with the advice and consent of the city
council: part-time city court judge  of  Beacon,  part-time  city  court
judge of Corning, part-time city court judge of Cortland, part-time city
court judge of Gloversville, city court judge of Glen Cove who serves in
the office that on June first, two thousand one was an appointive office
pursuant  to  this  subparagraph, [part-time city court judge of Ithaca,
part-time] city court judge of Jamestown WHO SERVES IN THE  OFFICE  THAT
ON  JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN WAS AN APPOINTIVE OFFICE PURSUANT TO
THIS SUBPARAGRAPH, part-time city court judge of Olean, city court judg-
es of Plattsburgh, city court judge of Port Jervis  who  serves  in  the
office that formerly was that of acting city court judge of Port Jervis,
city  court  judges  of Rye, city court judge of Salamanca who serves in
the office that formerly was that of acting city court judge of Salaman-
ca and the part-time city court judge of Watertown.
  S 4. The opening paragraph of subparagraph (iii)  of  paragraph  1  of
subdivision  (e)  of  section  2104  of  the  uniform city court act, as
amended by chapter 493 of the laws  of  2006,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  by  the  mayor of the city for which the court on which he or she will
serve has been established: part-time city court  judge  of  Binghamton,
city  court  judges  of  Cohoes,  part-time city court judge of Dunkirk,
part-time city court judge of Fulton, city court  judge  of  Geneva  who
serves  in  the office that formerly was that of acting city court judge
of Geneva, city court judge of Hornell who serves  in  the  office  that
formerly  was  that  of  acting  city court judge of Hornell, city court
judge of Hudson who serves in the  office  that  formerly  was  that  of
acting  city  court judge of Hudson, part-time city court judge of King-
ston, part-time city court judge of  Lackawanna,  city  court  judge  of
Little  Falls  who serves in the office that formerly was that of acting
CITY court judge of Little Falls, [part-time city court judge  of  Lock-
port,]  city  court judge of Mechanicville who serves in the office that
formerly was that of acting city court judge  of  Mechanicville,  [part-
time]  city  court  judge of Middletown WHO SERVES IN THE OFFICE THAT ON
JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN  WAS  PART-TIME,  part-time  city  court
judge  of  Mount  Vernon,  [part-time]  city court [judge] JUDGES of New
Rochelle [and full-time city court judge of such city who serves in  the
office  created  during  the calendar year commencing January first, two
thousand one] WHO SERVE IN OFFICES THAT ON JANUARY FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND

A. 8976--A                          4

TEN  WERE  APPOINTIVE  OFFICES  PURSUANT TO THIS SUBPARAGRAPH, part-time
city court judge of North  Tonawanda,  part-time  city  court  judge  of
Ogdensburg,  city  court  judge  of Oneida who serves in the office that
[formerly  was  that  of  acting  city court judge of Oneida] ON JANUARY
FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN  WAS  AN  APPOINTIVE  OFFICE  PURSUANT  TO  THIS
SUBPARAGRAPH,  city court judge of Oneonta who serves in the office that
formerly was that of acting city court judge of Oneonta, part-time  city
court  judge  of  Oswego,  city court judges of Poughkeepsie, city court
judge of Rensselaer who serves in the office that formerly was  that  of
acting  city  court judge of Rensselaer, [part-time] city court judge of
Saratoga Springs WHO SERVES IN THE OFFICE THAT  ON  JANUARY  FIRST,  TWO
THOUSAND  TEN  WAS  AN  APPOINTIVE OFFICE PURSUANT TO THIS SUBPARAGRAPH,
part-time city court judge of Tonawanda and city court judge of  Waterv-
liet  who  serves  in  the  office that formerly was that of acting city
court judge of Watervliet.   Provided, however,  the  following  special
provisions shall be applicable in the city of Poughkeepsie:
  S  5. Section 221-i of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter 493 of
the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
  S 221-i. Salary of judges of the city courts outside the city  of  New
York.  The  annual salary of each judge of a city court outside the city
of New York shall be as follows (where this section  provides  different
salaries for judicial positions on the same court having the same title,
the  greater  salary  shall be paid the person holding the position paid
the greater salary on the day immediately preceding  the  day  on  which
such salaries took effect):

City                Title

Albany              City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
[Albany             City Court Judge                   54,400]
Amsterdam           City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Amsterdam           City Court Judge                   27,200
Auburn              City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Auburn              City Court Judge                   27,200
Batavia             City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Batavia             City Court Judge                   27,200
Beacon              City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Beacon              City Court Judge                   27,200
Binghamton          City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Binghamton          City Court Judge                   54,400
Buffalo             Chief Judge (FT)                   115,100
Buffalo             City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
Canandaigua         City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Canandaigua         City Court Judge                   27,200
Cohoes              City Court Judge                   54,400
Corning             City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Corning             City Court Judge                   27,200
Cortland            City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Cortland            City Court Judge                   [27,200] 54,400
Dunkirk             City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Dunkirk             City Court Judge                   27,200
Elmira              City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Fulton              City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Fulton              City Court Judge                   27,200
Geneva              City Court Judge                   54,400
Geneva              City Court Judge                   27,200

A. 8976--A                          5

Glen Cove           City Court Judge                   54,400
Gloversville        City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Gloversville        City Court Judge                   27,200
Glens Falls         City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Glens Falls         City Court Judge                   27,200
Hornell             City Court Judge                   54,400
Hornell             City Court Judge                   27,200
Hudson              City Court Judge                   54,400
Hudson              City Court Judge                   27,200
Ithaca              City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
[Ithaca             City Court Judge                   54,400]
Jamestown           City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
[Jamestown          City Court Judge                   54,400]
Johnstown           City Court Judge                   54,400
Johnstown           City Court Judge                   27,200
Kingston            City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Kingston            City Court Judge                   54,400
Lackawanna          City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Lackawanna          City Court Judge                   54,400
Lockport            City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
[Lockport           City Court Judge                   54,400]
Long Beach          City Court Judge (FT)              118,300
Little Falls        City Court Judge                   27,200
Mechanicville       City Court Judge                   27,200
Middletown          City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
[Middletown         City Court Judge                   54,400]
Mount Vernon        City Court Judge (FT)              118,300
Mount Vernon        City Court Judge                   54,400
Newburgh            City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Niagara Falls       Chief Judge (FT)                   115,100
Niagara Falls       City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
Norwich             City Court Judge (FT)              [54,400] 108,800
Norwich             City Court Judge                   27,200
New Rochelle        City Court Judge (FT)              118,300
[New Rochelle       City Court Judge                   54,400]
North Tonawanda     City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
North Tonawanda     City Court Judge                   54,400
Ogdensburg          City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Ogdensburg          City Court Judge                   27,200
Olean               City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Olean               City Court Judge                   27,200
Oneida              City Court Judge (FT)              [54,400] 108,800
Oneida              City Court Judge                   27,200
Oneonta             City Court Judge                   54,400
Oneonta             City Court Judge                   27,200
Oswego              City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Oswego              City Court Judge                   27,200
Peekskill           City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Peekskill           City Court Judge                   54,400
Poughkeepsie        City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Plattsburgh         City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Plattsburgh         City Court Judge                   27,200
Port Jervis         City Court Judge                   54,400
[Port Jervis        City Court Judge                   27,200]
Rensselaer          City Court Judge                   54,400
Rensselaer          City Court Judge                   27,200

A. 8976--A                          6

Rochester           Chief Judge (FT)                   115,100
Rochester           City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
Rome                City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
[Rome               City Court Judge                   54,400]
Rye                 City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Rye                 City Court Judge                   [27,200] 54,400
Salamanca           City Court Judge                   54,400
SALAMANCA           CITY COURT JUDGE                   27,200
Saratoga Springs    City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
[Saratoga Springs   City Court Judge                   54,400]
Schenectady         City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Sherrill            City Court Judge                   27,200
Syracuse            Chief Judge (FT)                   115,100
Syracuse            City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
Tonawanda           City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Tonawanda           City Court Judge                   54,400
Troy                City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
Troy                City Court Judge                   81,600
Utica               Chief Judge (FT)                   115,100
Utica               City Court Judge (FT)              113,900
Watertown           City Court Judge (FT)              108,800
Watertown           City Court Judge                   27,200
Watervliet          City Court Judge                   54,400
[Watervliet         City Court Judge                   27,200]
White Plains        City Court Judge (FT)              116,800
[White Plains       City Court Judge                   54,400]
Yonkers             Chief Judge (FT)                   119,500
Yonkers             City Court Judge (FT)              118,300
  S  6.  Transition.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision of law, for
purposes of this act:
  (a) On the effective date of this section:
  (i) each of the following part-time judgeships shall be abolished  and
replaced  by  a  full-time  judgeship: the part-time city court judge of
Albany, the part-time city court judge of  Ithaca,  the  part-time  city
court  judge  of  Jamestown, the part-time city court judge of Lockport,
the part-time city judge of Middletown, the part-time city  court  judge
of  New Rochelle, the part-time city court judge of Norwich whose office
is paid the greater compensation on such date, the part-time city  court
judge  of  Oneida  whose office is paid the greater compensation on such
date, the part-time city court judge of Rome, the part-time  city  court
judge  of  Saratoga  Springs and the part-time city court judge of White
Plains. Each person in a judgeship abolished by this  subdivision  shall
continue  in service in the full-time judgeship that replaces such abol-
ished judgeship hereunder for the remainder of the  term  of  office  to
which he or she was selected in such abolished judgeship; and
  (ii)  the office of the part-time city court judge of Salamanca senior
in service on such date  shall  receive  the  increase  in  compensation
provided  in  section  221-i  of the judiciary law as amended by section
five of this act.
  (b) The new offices of full-time city court judge  in  the  cities  of
Buffalo, Newburgh, Troy and Yonkers, respectively, shall first be filled
by election at the next general election at which they can be filled for
a full term to commence January first next thereafter.
  (c)  Notwithstanding  any other provision of this act, upon the aboli-
tion of the office of part-time city court judge in the  city  of  Lock-
port,  pursuant to paragraph (i) of subdivision (a) of this section, the

A. 8976--A                          7

office of full-time judgeship that  replaces  such  part-time  judgeship
shall  be  elective  except that, when such full-time judgeship is first
filled for a full term, on or after the effective date of this  section,
it  shall  be filled by appointment by the mayor of the city of Lockport
for a term that will end on the thirty-first of December next succeeding
ten years from the date such term shall commence; provided, however,  if
a  vacancy  shall  occur during such term, the office shall be filled in
the manner provided by subparagraph (i) of paragraph two of  subdivision
(e)  of  section two thousand one hundred four of the uniform city court
act.
  S 7. (a) In the event that the compensation to be paid a  judge  of  a
city  court, as prescribed by this act or any other provision of law, is
lower than the compensation being paid such judge immediately  prior  to
the  effective date of this section, such judge shall, for as long as he
or she holds the office in which he or she is serving on such  effective
date,  receive  such  higher compensation (plus any increases thereto as
shall thereafter be provided by law).
  (b) Notwithstanding any provision of this  act,  this  act  shall  not
extend  or  diminish  any term of judicial office commenced prior to the
effective date of this section.
  S 8. This act shall take effect on the first of April next  succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law; provided, however, that no
changes in the number or compensation of judges, as provided in sections
two and five of this act, may take effect in a city in which a full-time
judgeship  replaces  a  part-time  judgeship  pursuant to this act until
authorized under section six of this act.

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Assembly Bill A8976

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Sponsored By

CANESTRARI

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

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John McEneny

Helene Weinstein

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