Establishes a second office of judge of the county court in the county of Chenango

1 Co-sponsor

• James L. Seward

BILL NUMBER:S3139A

Title of bill

An act to amend the judiciary law, in relation to establishing a second county court judgeship in the county of Chenango

Purpose or general idea of bill

Provides for the new office of judge of the county court in the County of Chenango and state that each county Court judge in the County of Chenango shall also act as and discharge the duties of county court judge, judge of the family court and surrogate of such county.

Existing law

Provides for one county court judgeship in Chenango County.

Justification

Currently, a single judge presides over all Family, County (criminal and civil), and Surrogate Courts for Chenango County. The caseload for this Multi-Bench judge is tremendous. Rural areas are no longer immune to the ravage of crime. The county has observed increases in burglary, DWI offenses, drug use, domestic violence, and abuse, which have created a large caseload that warrants the appointment of a second judge. The caseload has made it increasingly difficult for the single Multi-Bench judge to continue to process such a number of cases in a timely and fair manner.

For the past six years, the Multi-Bench judge of Chenango County has had more than double the typical caseload. The Family Court has seen a 78% increase in filings in the past eight years. The 4,746 cases seen by the judge in 2006 were much higher than most caseloads seen by judges who only handle Family Court, This swell has hurt the timeliness of justice as it has forced the lead-time in Family Court to grow from six weeks to eight to twelve weeks.

Additionally, the Multi-Bench judge of Chenango County has the highest number of criminal cases in the small county category of New York.

Chenango County's need for this additional judgeship is crucial for the justice system of the county. The need became so great that the Cortland County's Multi-Bench judges came to the aid of Chenango County in 2006.

Prior legislative history

S.4237 of 2004 Senate Judiciary Committee S.2055 of 2005 Committed to Finance S.3128 of 2008 Committed to Finance S.438A of 2010 Referred to Judiciary

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect January 1, 2013; provided however, that the additional office of county judge created pursuant to this act shall first be filled at the general election to be held on November 6, 2012.