BILL NUMBER: S7676
SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the uniform justice court act, the public officers law
and the uniform city court act, in relation to allowing for justices to
reside in any town, village or city within the same assembly district as
the court such justice serves and establishing minimum educational
requirements for certain town and village justices
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill allows a justice of a local justice court, also known as town,
village, or city court, to live within the same assembly district as the
court on which they serve; and allows' for towns or villages to vote to
require town or village justices be admitted to practice law in New York
State.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds section 106-c to the Uniform Justice Act which allows a
justice of a town, village, or city court to reside in any town,
village, or city contained in whole or in part within the same assembly
district as the court on which the justice serves.
Section 2 adds section 105-a to the Uniform Justice Act to allow for
towns or villages to elect, by a majority vote of the governing body of
such town or village, to require town or village justices be admitted to
practice law in New York State.
Section 3 adds subdivision 10-a to section 3 of the Public Officers Law
to provide concurring language within public officers law.
Section 4 adds subdivision (g) to section 2104 of the Uniform City Court
Act to make concurring changes to the City court system.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Study after study has demonstrated that judges of justice courts, also
known as town, village, and city courts, account for the overwhelming
majority of judicial misconduct cases and routinely result in New York-
ers being denied their fundamental due process rights. Data indicates
that this is exacerbated in rural areas, where these judges are often
not attorneys. Expanding eligibility to those residing in the same New
York State Assembly District would allow for the expansion of the pool
of qualified justice courts. Unlike other jurisdictions, New York State
Assembly Districts must be made up of like communities under state law.
Most importantly, the judge will still be voted on only by the residents
of the city, town, or village where the court is located. Town and
village court justices make up the majority of all judges in New York
State. In 2019, Monroe County's Democrat & Chronicle reported that "town
and village justices comprise less than two-thirds of the roughly 3,400
judges in New York, yet account for 70 percent of the discipline cases
brought by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Of those cases, 80%
of the disciplined judges are non-lawyers, according to the Commission.
This bill will help ensure that New Yorkers facing difficult times and
who are now in front of our court system will have access to the fair
administration of justice, and those voting for town, village, and city
courts will have access to the most qualified judges available.
 
PRIOR HISTORY:
2024: Similar Bill (A.1146/Lunsford) Died in Judiciary
2023: Similar Bill (A.1146/Lunsford) Died in Judiciary
2022: Similar Bill (A.9066/Lunsford) Died in Judiciary
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

Statutes affected:
S7676: 3 public officers law