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

BILL NUMBER:S4135

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 of bill

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

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1. Subdivision 8 of section 182 of the judiciary law, as added by chapter 699 of the laws of 1969, is amended to read as follows:

8. Chenango, one two;

§ 2. A new office of judge of the county court of the county of Chenango is hereby established.

§ 3. See effective date.

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 several years, the Multi-Bench judge of Chenango County has had more than double the typical caseload. The Family Court has seen a tremendous increase in filings within the past decade. 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 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 back in 2006.

Prior legislative history

New Bill.

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect January 1, 2016; provided, however, that the additional office of county court judge created pursuant to this act shall first be filled at the general election to be held on November 3, 2015.