§ 2104. Organization of city courts.

(a) The number of judges for each city court outside the city of New
York, their jurisdiction and terms of office, and the methods of their
selection and of filling vacancies in their offices shall be as provided
in this section.

(b) Each judge of a city court, including acting city court judges,
shall:

* (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, the part-time judge of the Lackawanna city court may reside
anywhere in Erie county provided his or her term of office commenced
during the two thousand eighteen calendar year 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.

* NB Effective until the day the term of office of the first part-time
judge of the Lackawanna city court to be appointed during the 2018
calendar year expires or on the day such judge otherwise vacates his or
her office, whichever occurs first

* (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.

* NB Effective the day the term of office of the first part-time judge
of the Lackawanna city court to be appointed during the 2018 calendar
year expires or on the day such judge otherwise vacates his or her
office, whichever occurs first

(2) exercise all jurisdiction possessed by the court on which he or
she serves.

(3) serve a term of six years, except that full-time judges each shall
serve a term of ten years.

(c) A full-time judge of a city court shall not engage in the practice
of law, act as an arbitrator, referee, or compensated mediator in any
action or proceeding, or engage in the conduct of any other professional
business that interferes with the performance of his or her judicial
duties.

(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, five full-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, three full-time;

7 Buffalo, 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, two full-time;

22 Jamestown, two full-time;

23 Johnstown, two;

24 Kingston, two full-time;

25 Lackawanna, one full-time and one part-time;

26 Little Falls, two;

27 Lockport, two full-time;

28 Long Beach, two full-time;

29 Mechanicville, two;

30 Middletown, two full-time;

31 Mount Vernon, three full-time and one part-time;

32 Newburgh, three full-time;

33 New Rochelle, three full-time;

34 Niagara Falls, four full-time;

35 North Tonawanda, one full-time and one part-time;

36 Norwich, 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, 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, ten full-time;

48 Rome, two full-time;

49 Rye, one full-time and one part-time;

50 Salamanca, two;

51 Saratoga Springs, two full-time;

52 Schenectady, four full-time;

53 Sherrill, one;

54 Syracuse, nine full-time;

55 Tonawanda, one full-time and one part-time;

56 Troy, 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, four full-time;

61 Yonkers, seven full-time.

(e) Method of selection; vacancies. (1) Each judge of a city court
shall be elected for the term provided in this section, except that each
of the following judges shall be appointed:

(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 Olean, city
court judges 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, the city court judge of Salamanca who
serves in the office that formerly was that of acting city court judge
of Salamanca, and the part-time city court judge of Watertown who serves
in the office that was full-time on March thirty-first, two thousand
twenty-one.

(ii) by the city council of the city for which the court on which he
or she will serve has been established: part-time city court judge of
Auburn, part-time city court judge of Batavia, part-time city court
judge of Canandaigua, city court judge of Johnstown who serves in the
office that formerly was that of acting city court judge of Johnstown,
city court judge of Newburgh who serves in the office that on March
thirty-first, two thousand one was part-time, city court judge of
Norwich who serves in the office that was created during the calendar
year commencing January first, two thousand thirteen, city court judges
of Peekskill, and city court judges of White Plains.

(iii) by the mayor of the city for which the court on which he or she
will serve has been established: 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 Lackawanna, city court judge of Little Falls who serves
in the office that formerly was that of acting city court judge of
Little Falls, city court judge of Mechanicville who serves in the office
that formerly was that of acting city court judge of Mechanicville, city
court judge of Middletown who serves in the office that was created
during the calendar year commencing January first, two thousand
thirteen, part-time city court judge of Mount Vernon, city court judge
of New Rochelle who serves in the office that was created during the
calendar year commencing January first, two thousand thirteen and the
city court judge of such city who serves in the office that on January
first, two thousand thirteen was an appointive office pursuant to this
subparagraph, part-time city court judge of North Tonawanda, part-time
city court judge of Ogdensburg, part-time city court judge of Oneida,
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, city court judge of Saratoga Springs who
serves in the office that was created during the calendar year
commencing January first, two thousand thirteen, part-time city court
judge of Tonawanda and city court judge of Watervliet 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:

(A) except as otherwise provided in clause (B) of this subparagraph,
the mayor shall submit the name of the person he or she intends to
appoint to fill a vacancy in the office of city court judge, together
with such background information as he or she may deem appropriate, to
an advisory judicial screening committee. Such committee shall be
comprised of three residents of the city of Poughkeepsie, two of whom
shall be attorneys duly licensed and in good standing to practice law in
the state of New York and who shall be designated by the president of
the Dutchess county bar association, and one of whom shall be a
non-lawyer who shall be designated by the president of the Dutchess
county community college. Within thirty days after such submission, the
committee shall rate the person named therein for his or her fitness for
the office of Poughkeepsie city court judge and shall notify the mayor
in writing of such rating, which may be "highly-qualified", "qualified",
or "not rated". The committee's rating shall be advisory only and the
mayor's authority to appoint the person whose name has been submitted,
or to choose not to appoint such person, shall not in any way be limited
thereby.

(B) In the event that a vacancy in the office of city court judge of
the city of Poughkeepsie is anticipated to occur on the first day of
January of any year in which a new mayoral term shall commerce, the
person who will assume the office of mayor on such first day of January
shall submit the name of the person he or she intends to appoint to fill
such vacancy to the advisory judicial screening committee not later than
the immediately preceding first day of December.

(iv) by the city commission of the city in which the court on which he
or she will serve has been established: city court judge of Sherrill.

(2) Whenever a vacancy in the office of city court judge occurs other
than by expiration of term, it shall be filled as herein provided:

(i) If the office is elective, the part-time city court judge of the
court on which the vacancy has occurred or, if there be more than one
part-time city court judge of such court, the part-time city court judge
senior in service, shall fill the vacancy temporarily until the
thirty-first day of December following the next general city election at
which the vacancy can be filled. At such election, a successor shall be
elected to fill the vacancy for a full term of office, to commence on
January first next thereafter. If there is no part-time city court judge
of the court on which the vacancy has occurred or if the incumbent
part-time city court judge declines to serve as provided herein or if
the vacancy is in the office of part-time city court judge, the mayor of
the city in which the court on which the vacancy has occurred is located
shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy temporarily as
provided in this subparagraph. Where a part-time city court judge fills
a vacancy in the office of full-time city court judge pursuant to this
subparagraph:

(A) he or she shall not be deemed to have vacated the office of
part-time city court judge, his or her term in such office shall not be
deemed to have been interrupted and, upon expiration of service as
full-time city court judge hereunder, he or she shall resume service as
part-time city court judge for the remainder of such term;

(B) for the duration of such service, he or she shall be paid the
compensation provided by law for the office of city court judge thereby
filled; and

(C) the mayor may appoint a qualified person to serve as part-time
city court judge in his or her stead for a period not to exceed the
period during which he or she serves as full-time city court judge
hereunder.

(ii) If the office is appointive, a successor shall be selected for a
full term in the manner provided in paragraph one of this subdivision.

(f) Notwithstanding the designation hereunder of a judge of a city
court as part-time or as an acting city court judge, such judge shall,
for purposes of determining his or her entitlement to credit under the
retirement and social security law for service rendered prior to April
first, nineteen hundred ninety-four, be deemed to work full time.