Assembly Bill A5787

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5787
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 20, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. RAJKUMAR -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Judiciary
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  uniform justice court act, the town law and the
   village law,  in  relation  to  requiring  certain  town  and  village
   justices be admitted to practice law in the state

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 105 of the uniform justice court act is amended  by
 adding a new subdivision (a-1) to read as follows:
   (A-1)  EDUCATION.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE
 CONTRARY, NO PERSON MAY SERVE AS A TOWN OR VILLAGE JUSTICE IN A TOWN  OR
 VILLAGE  WITH  A  HIGH  ARRAIGNMENT  VOLUME  UNLESS THEY ARE AN ATTORNEY
 ADMITTED TO PRACTICE LAW IN THIS STATE FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS AS OF THE
 DATE THEY COMMENCE THE DUTIES OF OFFICE. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDI-
 VISION, "TOWN OR VILLAGE WITH A HIGH ARRAIGNMENT VOLUME" SHALL MEAN  THE
 ONE  HUNDRED  HIGHEST  ARRAIGNMENT VOLUMES IN TOWN AND VILLAGE COURTS IN
 THE STATE AS DETERMINED BY THE OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION IN CONSUL-
 TATION WITH THE DIVISION  OF  CRIMINAL  JUSTICE  SERVICES.  THE  INITIAL
 DETERMINATION  SHALL  BE BASED ON THE SUM OF ARRAIGNMENTS FROM TWO THOU-
 SAND EIGHTEEN AND TWO  THOUSAND  NINETEEN.    SUBSEQUENT  DETERMINATIONS
 SHALL  TAKE PLACE EVERY TEN YEARS THEREAFTER AND SHALL USE THE SUM OF AT
 LEAST TWO YEARS' DATA. ANY CHANGE IN THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY TO
 SERVE AS A TOWN OR VILLAGE JUSTICE IN SUCH TOWN OR  VILLAGE  SHALL  TAKE
 EFFECT  UPON  COMMENCEMENT OF THE NEXT JUDICIAL TERM OF OFFICE FOLLOWING
 THE DESIGNATION AS A TOWN OR VILLAGE WITH  A  HIGH  ARRAIGNMENT  VOLUME.
 NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, NON-ATTORNEY JUSTICES IN OFFICE AS OF THE
 EFFECTIVE  DATE  OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL REMAIN ELIGIBLE TO SERVE AS A
 JUSTICE FOR THE COURT ON WHICH THEY CURRENTLY SIT.
   § 2. Section 31 of the town law is amended by adding a new subdivision
 2-a to read as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04265-01-5
 A. 5787                             2
              

 
   2-A. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO  THE  CONTRARY,  NO
 PERSON  MAY  SERVE  AS  A TOWN JUSTICE IN A TOWN WITH A HIGH ARRAIGNMENT
 VOLUME, AS DETERMINED PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  (A-1)  OF  SECTION  ONE
 HUNDRED FIVE OF THE UNIFORM JUSTICE COURT ACT, UNLESS THEY ARE AN ATTOR-
 NEY ADMITTED TO PRACTICE LAW IN THIS STATE FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS AS OF
 THE  DATE THEY COMMENCE THE DUTIES OF OFFICE. ANY CHANGE IN THE REQUIRE-
 MENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY TO SERVE AS A TOWN JUSTICE IN SUCH TOWN SHALL TAKE
 EFFECT UPON COMMENCEMENT OF THE NEXT JUDICIAL TERM OF  OFFICE  FOLLOWING
 THE DESIGNATION AS A TOWN WITH A HIGH ARRAIGNMENT VOLUME.  NOTWITHSTAND-
 ING  THE  FOREGOING, NON-ATTORNEY JUSTICES IN OFFICE AS OF THE EFFECTIVE
 DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL REMAIN ELIGIBLE TO SERVE AS A JUSTICE FOR
 THE COURT ON WHICH THEY CURRENTLY SIT.
   § 3. Section 3-301 of the village law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
 subdivision 6 to read as follows:
   6.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER  PROVISION  OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, NO
 PERSON MAY SERVE AS A VILLAGE JUSTICE IN A VILLAGE WITH A HIGH  ARRAIGN-
 MENT  VOLUME, AS DETERMINED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION (A-1) OF SECTION ONE
 HUNDRED FIVE OF THE UNIFORM JUSTICE COURT ACT, UNLESS THEY ARE AN ATTOR-
 NEY ADMITTED TO PRACTICE LAW IN THIS STATE FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS AS OF
 THE DATE THEY COMMENCE THE DUTIES OF OFFICE. ANY CHANGE IN THE  REQUIRE-
 MENTS  FOR  ELIGIBILITY  TO  SERVE  AS A VILLAGE JUSTICE IN SUCH VILLAGE
 SHALL TAKE EFFECT UPON COMMENCEMENT OF THE NEXT JUDICIAL TERM OF  OFFICE
 FOLLOWING  THE  DESIGNATION AS A VILLAGE WITH A HIGH ARRAIGNMENT VOLUME.
 NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, NON-ATTORNEY JUSTICES IN OFFICE AS OF THE
 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL REMAIN ELIGIBLE TO SERVE  AS  A
 JUSTICE FOR THE COURT ON WHICH THEY CURRENTLY SIT.
   §  4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.