NY State Senate Bill 2023-S139B

Senate Bill S139B

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to requiring certain town and village justices be admitted to practice law in the state

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

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

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 16, 2024	referred to judiciary delivered to assembly passed senate
May 13, 2024	amended on third reading 139c
Mar 28, 2024	advanced to third reading
Mar 27, 2024	2nd report cal.
Mar 26, 2024	1st report cal.713
Jan 03, 2024	referred to judiciary returned to senate died in assembly
Jun 06, 2023	referred to judiciary delivered to assembly passed senate ordered to third reading cal.1583 committee discharged and committed to rules
May 30, 2023	print number 139b
May 30, 2023	amend and recommit to judiciary
Apr 25, 2023	print number 139a
Apr 25, 2023	amend and recommit to judiciary
Jan 04, 2023	referred to judiciary

Votes

- May 16, 2024 - Floor Vote
  S139B
  
  43
  
  Aye
  
  15
  
  Nay
  
  1
  
  Absent
  
  3
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: May 16, 2024
      
      aye (43)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Ashby
      
      Bailey
      
      Breslin
      
      Brisport
      
      Brouk
      
      Chu
      
      Cleare
      
      Comrie
      
      Cooney
      
      Felder
      
      Fernandez
      
      Gianaris
      
      Gounardes
      
      Harckham
      
      Hinchey
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jackson
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Krueger
      
      Lanza
      
      Liu
      
      Mannion
      
      Martinez
      
      Mattera
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Palumbo
      
      Parker
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Rivera
      
      Rolison
      
      Ryan
      
      Salazar
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Scarcella-Spanton
      
      Serrano
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Thomas
      
      Webb
      
      nay (15)
      
      Borrello
      
      Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick
      
      Gallivan
      
      Griffo
      
      Helming
      
      Martins
      
      Murray
      
      O'Mara
      
      Oberacker
      
      Ortt
      
      Rhoads
      
      Stec
      
      Tedisco
      
      Weber
      
      Weik
      
      absent (1)
      
      Myrie
      
      excused (3)
      
      Gonzalez
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Walczyk
  Jun 6, 2023 - Floor Vote
  S139B
  
  44
  
  Aye
  
  18
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  1
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: Jun 6, 2023
      
      aye (44)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Ashby
      
      Bailey
      
      Borrello
      
      Breslin
      
      Brisport
      
      Brouk
      
      Chu
      
      Cleare
      
      Comrie
      
      Cooney
      
      Fernandez
      
      Gianaris
      
      Gonzalez
      
      Gounardes
      
      Harckham
      
      Hinchey
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jackson
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      Lanza
      
      Liu
      
      Mannion
      
      Martinez
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Myrie
      
      Parker
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Rivera
      
      Ryan
      
      Salazar
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Scarcella-Spanton
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Serrano
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Thomas
      
      Webb
      
      nay (18)
      
      Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick
      
      Gallivan
      
      Griffo
      
      Helming
      
      Martins
      
      Mattera
      
      Murray
      
      O'Mara
      
      Oberacker
      
      Ortt
      
      Palumbo
      
      Rhoads
      
      Rolison
      
      Stec
      
      Tedisco
      
      Walczyk
      
      Weber
      
      Weik
      
      excused (1)
      
      Felder
  Jun 6, 2023 - Rules Committee Vote
  S139B
  
  14
  
  Aye
  
  5
  
  Nay
  
  2
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Rules Committee Vote: Jun 6, 2023
      
      aye (14)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Bailey
      
      Breslin
      
      Comrie
      
      Fernandez
      
      Gianaris
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      Lanza
      
      Liu
      
      Mayer
      
      Parker
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Thomas
      
      nay (5)
      
      Gallivan
      
      Griffo
      
      Helming
      
      O'Mara
      
      Ortt
      
      aye wr (2)
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Stec
  Mar 26, 2024 - Judiciary Committee Vote
  S139B
  
  14
  
  Aye
  
  5
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Judiciary Committee Vote: Mar 26, 2024
      
      aye (14)
      
      Bailey
      
      Breslin
      
      Gounardes
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Lanza
      
      Liu
      
      Mayer
      
      Myrie
      
      Ramos
      
      Ryan
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Thomas
      
      nay (5)
      
      Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick
      
      Martins
      
      O'Mara
      
      Palumbo
      
      Rhoads

Bill Amendments

Original

C (Active)

2023-S139 - Details

Current Committee:: Assembly Judiciary
Law Section:: Uniform Justice Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §105, UJCA; amd §31, Town L; amd §3-301, Vil L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S9433

2023-S139 - Summary

Relates to requiring certain town and village justices be admitted to practice law in the state; requires town and village justices in a town or village with a high arraignment volume be admitted to practice law in New York state for at least five years as of the date they commence the duties of office; provides the determination of a town or village with a high arraignment volume shall be made by the office of court administration in consultation with the division of criminal justice services.

2023-S139 - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S139

SPONSOR: RYAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill establishes a requirement that justices in high-volume town
and village courts be licensed as attorneys.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 105 of the uniform justice court act to require
that a town or village justice selected for a term office in the fifty
highest volume caseload town and village courts in the state as deter-
mined by OCA and DCJS be admitted to practice law in the state of New
York.

Section 2 amends Section 31 of the town law to reflect the same require-
ments.

Section 3 amends Section 3-301 of the village law to reflect the same
requirements.

Section 4 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Justice Courts are town and village courts. These small local courts are
sometimes referred to as magistrate courts. Justice courts have juris-
diction over both civil and criminal matters including smalls claim;
landlord tenant issues, including evictions; prosecution of misdemea-
nors; arraignments preliminary hearings for felonies; and traffic
infractions. Despite the crucial role that justice courts play in the
state legal system, they are underfunded and have little oversight.
There are disparities across the state in the quality of facilities and
in the salaries the courts can offer. There is also no requirement that
a justice court judge be a licensed attorney.

At present, New York is one of only eight states to allow non-lawyer
judges to hand down jail sentences for misdemeanors without the right to
a new trial before a lawyer-judge. The other seven are Arizona, Montana,
Colorado, Texas, Wyoming, Nevada, and South Carolina. And Montana only
permits the practice in rural and or sparsely populated counties.

In the context of criminal proceedings and eviction cases, the lack of
attorney judges raises some due process issues. Most, if not all, crimi-
nal cases involve a deprivation of liberty or property. Eviction cases,
by their very nature are a deprivation of property. It is a well-establ-
ished legal principle that such cases be taken very seriously, and due
care and thought be given to the decision making process. Criminal
defendants have a right to be represented by an attorney, and a 1976
Supreme Court case, North v. Russell, held that just as criminal defend-
ants have a right to be represented by an attorney, they also have a due
process right to appear before an attorney judge. While North v. Russell
clearly established this right, it left it up to the states to decide
how they want to protect it.

Many smaller localities lack the resources and docket to attract an
attorney to serve as the town or village justice. This bill imposes a
requirement only on those localities that have the largest number of
cases in the state, so as to maximize the number of defendants who
appear before lawyer-judges without putting an undue burden on smaller
localities.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S8243/A9389, S9433

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.

2023-S139 - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    139
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RYAN  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee 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 VOLUME CASELOAD UNLESS THEY ARE ADMITTED TO PRACTICE
 LAW IN THE STATE. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, "TOWN OR VILLAGE
 WITH A HIGH VOLUME CASELOAD" SHALL MEAN THE FIFTY HIGHEST  VOLUME  CASE-
 LOADS  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE  COURTS  IN THE STATE AS DETERMINED BY THE
 OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION IN  CONSULTATION  WITH  THE  DIVISION  OF
 CRIMINAL  JUSTICE  SERVICES. THE INITIAL DETERMINATION SHALL BE BASED ON
 THE SUM OF CASES FROM TWO THOUSAND 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 VOLUME CASELOAD.
   § 2. Section 31 of the town law is amended by adding a new subdivision
 2-a to read as follows:
   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 VOLUME CASE-
 LOAD, AS DETERMINED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION (A-1) OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED
 FIVE OF THE UNIFORM JUSTICE COURT ACT, UNLESS THEY ARE ADMITTED TO PRAC-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD01887-01-3
 S. 139                              2
 
 TICE LAW IN THE STATE. ANY CHANGE IN THE REQUIREMENTS 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 VOLUME CASELOAD.
   §  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 VOLUME
 CASELOAD, AS DETERMINED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION  (A-1)  OF  SECTION  ONE
 HUNDRED  FIVE OF THE UNIFORM JUSTICE COURT ACT, UNLESS THEY ARE ADMITTED
 TO PRACTICE LAW IN THE STATE. ANY CHANGE IN THE REQUIREMENTS FOR  ELIGI-
 BILITY  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 VOLUME CASELOAD.
   §  4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

2023-S139A - Details

Current Committee:: Assembly Judiciary
Law Section:: Uniform Justice Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §105, UJCA; amd §31, Town L; amd §3-301, Vil L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S9433

2023-S139A - Summary

2023-S139A - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S139A

SPONSOR: RYAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill establishes a requirement that justices in high-volume town
and village courts be licensed as attorneys and have five years of expe-
rience.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 105 of the uniform justice court act to require
that a town or village justice selected for a term office in the fifty
highest volume caseload town and village courts in the state as deter-
mined by OCA and DCJS be admitted to practice law in the state of New
York and have 5 years of experience.

Section 2 amends Section 31 of the town law to reflect the same require-
ments.

Section 3 amends Section 3-301 of the village law to reflect the same
requirements.

Section 4 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Justice Courts are town and village courts. These small local courts are
sometimes referred to as magistrate courts. Justice courts have juris-
diction over both civil and criminal matters including smalls claim;
landlord tenant issues, including evictions; prosecution of misdemea-
nors; arraignments preliminary hearings for felonies; and traffic
infractions. Despite the crucial role that justice courts play in the
state legal system, they are underfunded and have little oversight.
There are disparities across the state in the quality of facilities and
in the salaries the courts can offer. There is also no requirement that
a justice court judge be a licensed attorney.

At present, New York is one of only eight states to allow non-lawyer
judges to hand down jail sentences for misdemeanors without the right to
a new trial before a lawyer-judge. The other seven are Arizona, Montana,
Colorado, Texas, Wyoming, Nevada, and South Carolina. And Montana only
permits the practice in rural and or sparsely populated counties.

In the context of criminal proceedings and eviction cases, the lack of
attorney judges raises some due process issues. Most, if not all, crimi-
nal cases involve a deprivation of liberty or property. Eviction cases,
by their very nature are a deprivation of property. It is a well-establ-
ished legal principle that such cases be taken very seriously, and due
care and thought be given to the decision making process. Criminal
defendants have a right to be represented by an attorney, and a 1976
Supreme Court case, North v. Russell, held that just as criminal defend-
ants have a right to be represented by an attorney, they also have a due
process right to appear before an attorney judge. While North v. Russell
clearly established this right, it left it up to the states to decide
how they want to protect it.

Many smaller localities lack the resources and docket to attract an
attorney to serve as the town or village justice. This bill imposes a
requirement only on those localities that have the largest number of
cases in the state, so as to maximize the number of defendants who
appear before lawyer-judges without putting an undue burden on smaller
localities. The requirements this bill would impose on the 50 highest-
volume courts are identical to the requirements to serve as a judge in
the Uniform City Court Act.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S8243/A9389, S9433

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.

2023-S139A - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  139--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RYAN  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Judiciary  --  committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee

 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 VOLUME CASELOAD 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  SUBDIVI-
 SION, "TOWN OR VILLAGE WITH A HIGH VOLUME CASELOAD" SHALL MEAN THE FIFTY
 HIGHEST  VOLUME  CASELOADS  IN  TOWN  AND VILLAGE COURTS IN THE STATE AS
 DETERMINED BY THE OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION  IN  CONSULTATION  WITH
 THE  DIVISION  OF  CRIMINAL  JUSTICE SERVICES. THE INITIAL DETERMINATION
 SHALL BE BASED ON THE SUM OF CASES FROM TWO THOUSAND  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 VOLUME CASELOAD.
   § 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.
                                                            LBD01887-02-3

 S. 139--A                           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 VOLUME CASE-
 LOAD, AS DETERMINED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION (A-1) OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED
 FIVE OF THE UNIFORM JUSTICE COURT  ACT,  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. ANY CHANGE IN THE REQUIREMENTS
 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 VOLUME CASELOAD.
   § 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  VOLUME
 CASELOAD,  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 VOLUME CASELOAD.
   §  4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

2023-S139B - Details

Current Committee:: Assembly Judiciary
Law Section:: Uniform Justice Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §105, UJCA; amd §31, Town L; amd §3-301, Vil L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S9433

2023-S139B - Summary

2023-S139B - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S139BREVISED 6/6/23

SPONSOR: RYAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill establishes a requirement that justices in high-volume town
and village courts be licensed as attorneys and have five years of expe-
rience.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 105 of the uniform justice court act to require
that a town or village justice selected for a term office in the one
hundred highest volume caseload town and village courts in the state as
determined by OCA and DCJS be admitted to practice law in the state of
New York and have 5 years of experience, with the exception of sitting

justices.

Section 2 amends Section 31 of the town law to reflect the same require-
ments.

Section 3 amends Section 3-301 of the village law to reflect the same
requirements.

Section 4 is the effective date.   
JUSTIFICATION:

Justice Courts are town and village courts. These small local courts are
sometimes referred to as magistrate courts. Justice courts have juris-
diction over both civil and criminal matters including smalls claim;
landlord tenant issues, including evictions; prosecution of misdemea-
nors; arraignments preliminary hearings for felonies; and traffic
infractions. Despite the crucial role that justice courts play in the
state legal system, they are underfunded and have little oversight.
There are disparities across the state in the quality of facilities and
in the salaries the courts can offer. There is also no requirement that
a justice court judge be a licensed attorney. At present, New York is
one of only eight states to allow non-lawyer judges to hand down jail
sentences for misdemeanors without the right to a new trial before a
lawyer-judge. The other seven are Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Texas,
Wyoming, Nevada, and South Carolina. And Montana only permits the prac-
tice in rural and or sparsely populated counties.

In the context of criminal proceedings and eviction cases, the lack of
attorney judges raises some due process issues. Most, if not all, crimi-
nal cases involve a deprivation of liberty or property. Eviction cases,
by their very nature are a deprivation of property. It is a well-establ-
ished legal principle that such cases be taken very seriously, and due
care and thought be given to the decision making process. Criminal
defendants have a right to be represented by an attorney, and the
dissent in a 1976 US Supreme Court case, North v. Russell, asserted that
just as criminal defendants have a right to be represented by an attor-
ney, they also have a due process right to appear before an attorney

judge. While North v. Russell clearly established this right, it left it
up to the states to decide how they want to protect it.

Many smaller localities lack the resources and docket to attract an
attorney to serve as the town or village justice. This bill imposes a
requirement only on those localities that have the largest number of
cases in the state, so as to maximize the number of defendants who
appear before lawyer-judges without putting an undue burden on smaller
localities. The requirements this bill would impose on the 100 highest-
volume courts are identical to the requirements to serve as a judge in
the Uniform City Court Act.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S8243/A9389, S9433

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.

2023-S139B - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  139--B
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RYAN  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Judiciary  --  committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to  said  committee  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered
   reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 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 VOLUME CASELOAD 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 SUBDIVI-
 SION, "TOWN OR VILLAGE WITH A HIGH VOLUME CASELOAD" SHALL MEAN  THE  ONE
 HUNDRED HIGHEST VOLUME CASELOADS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE COURTS IN THE STATE
 AS DETERMINED BY THE OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION IN CONSULTATION WITH
 THE  DIVISION  OF  CRIMINAL  JUSTICE SERVICES. THE INITIAL DETERMINATION
 SHALL BE BASED ON THE SUM OF CASES FROM TWO THOUSAND  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 VOLUME CASELOAD.    NOTWITHSTANDING  THE  FOREGOING,
 NON-ATTORNEY  JUSTICES IN OFFICE AS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDI-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01887-04-3

 S. 139--B                           2
 
 VISION 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:
   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  VOLUME  CASE-
 LOAD, AS DETERMINED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION (A-1) OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED
 FIVE  OF  THE  UNIFORM  JUSTICE  COURT  ACT, 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. ANY CHANGE IN THE  REQUIREMENTS
 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 VOLUME CASELOAD.  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.
   § 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  VOLUME
 CASELOAD,  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 VOLUME CASELOAD.
 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.

co-Sponsors

2023-S139C (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Assembly Judiciary
Law Section:: Uniform Justice Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §105, UJCA; amd §31, Town L; amd §3-301, Vil L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S9433

2023-S139C (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S139C (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S139C

SPONSOR: RYAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill establishes a requirement that justices in high arraignment
volume town and village courts be licensed as attorneys and have five
years of experience.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 105 of the uniform justice court act to require
that a town or village justice selected for a term office in the one
hundred highest arriagnment volume caseload town and village courts in
the state as determined by OCA and DCJS be admitted to practice law in
the state of New York and have 5 years of experience, with the exception

of sitting justices.

Section 2 amends Section 31 of the town law to reflect the same require-
ments.

Section 3 amends Section 3-301 of the village law to reflect the same
requirements.

Section 4 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Justice Courts are town and village courts. These small local courts are
sometimes referred to as magistrate courts. Justice courts have juris-
diction over both civil and criminal matters including smalls claim;
landlord tenant issues, including evictions; prosecution of misdemea-
nors; arraignments preliminary hearings for felonies; and traffic
infractions. Despite the crucial role that justice courts play in the
state legal system, they are underfunded and have little oversight.
There are disparities across the state in the quality of facilities and
in the salaries the courts can offer. There is also no requirement that
a justice court judge be a licensed attorney. At present, New York is
one of only eight states to allow non-lawyer judges to hand down jail
sentences for misdemeanors without the right to a new trial before a
lawyer-judge. The other seven are Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Texas,
Wyoming, Nevada, and South Carolina. And Montana only permits the prac-
tice in rural and or sparsely populated counties.

In the context of criminal proceedings and eviction cases, the lack of
attorney judges raises some due process issues. Most, if not all, crimi-
nal cases involve a deprivation of liberty or property. Eviction cases,
by their very nature are a deprivation of property. It is a well-establ-
ished legal principle that such cases be taken very seriously, and due
care.and thought be given to the decision making process. Criminal
defendants have a right to be represented by an attorney, and the
dissent in a 1976 US Supreme Court case, North v.  Russell, asserted
that just as criminal defendants have a right to be represented by an
attorney, they also have a due process right to appear before an attor-
ney judge. While North v. Russell clearly established this right, it
left it up to the states to decide how they want to protect it.

Many smaller localities lack the resources and docket to attract an
attorney to serve as the town or village justice. This bill imposes a
requirement only on those localities that have the largest number of
arraignments in the state, so as to maximize the number of defendants
who appear before lawyer-judges without putting an undue burden on smal-
ler localities. The requirements this bill would impose on the 100
highest-arraignment volume courts are identical to the requirements to
serve as a judge in the Uniform City Court Act.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S8243/A9389, S9433

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.

2023-S139C (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  139--C
     Cal. No. 713
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RYAN  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Judiciary  --  committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to  said  committee  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered
   reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee --  recommitted
   to the Committee on Judiciary in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8
   -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second
   report,  ordered  to  a  third reading, amended and ordered reprinted,
   retaining its place in the order of third reading
 
 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01887-06-4
 S. 139--C                           2
 
 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:
   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.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.