Establishes the counties of residence that eleven additional judges previously authorized to serve on the civil court of the city of New York shall be elected from

BILL NUMBER:S1780

Title of bill

An act to amend the New York city civil court act, in relation to the election of additional judges of the civil court of the city of New York

Purpose or general idea of the bill

This bill would apportion the eleven addition NYC Civil Court judgeships previously authorized by the legislature in 1993, but never distributed among the five counties of NYC and therefore never elected and utilized.

Summary of specific provisions

Subdivision 2 of section 102-a of the New York city civil court act as added by chapter 511 of the laws of 1993 is amended to apportion the eleven addition NYC Civil Court judgeships previously authorized by the legislature in 1993, but never distributed among the five counties of NYC and therefore never elected and utilized, as follows: New York County: 1 judgeship; Kings: 3 judgeships; Queens: 4 judgeships; Bronx: 2 judgeships; Richmond: 1 judgeship.

Justification

The Civil Court docket in New York City has increased dramatically in the thirty years since additional judgeships were added. In recognition of this, the legislature authorized eleven additional judgeships in 1993, but has never established how these eleven judgeships are to be apportioned among NYC's five counties. In essence, the legislature's determination to address the increasing docket of NYC Civil Court cases in 1993 has still not been realized fourteen years later. This bill finally apportions these judges and gives NYC residents whose cases are heard in Civil Court the relief they need to have their cases heard in a speedy manner. The breakdown among the counties reflects the docket load of each county, with Queens receiving the greatest number of judges because it has the highest judge/docket ratio.

The eleven additional judges shall be elected in and from the residents of the following counties as follows: one from the county of New York, three from Kings County, four from Queens County, two from Bronx County; one from Richmond County. The additional judges shall receive the same compensation as the existing judges of the civil court of the city of New York.

Legislative history

This bill was previously introduced.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

Immediately; provided that in accordance with subdivision (a) of section 15 of article 6 of the constitution, the additional judgeships of the civil court of the city of New York affected by the provisions of this act first shall be filled at the general election to be held in November 2012 for a term to commence January 1, 2013.