Short History of the New York State Court System

• NCJ Number: 108895
• Author(s): M Bloustein
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 26 pages
• Corporate Author: New York State
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Presented at a Seminar on the Unified Court System of the State of New York, sponsored by the New York State Library, Albany, New York, December 5, 1985.

Annotation

This monograph chronicles some of the major events in the development of a New York State court system, beginning with a constitutional convention held in 1846.

Abstract

At that convention, the State court system was restructured. The supreme court was enlarged and became a state-wide court of original jurisdiction. An appellate court structure was created, and the convention mandated that trial judges be popularly elected for a fixed term of office. Additional changes were made to the court system in another constitutional convention held in 1894. After World War II, New York State experienced a 'law explosion' that taxed its existing court system. In the 1950's, commissions and conferences studied the problems of the New York court system. These studies culminated in a constitutional amendment in 1962 creating a unified court system. New York's diverse courts were thus reorganized in 1962. In 1976, the New York State Legislature enacted the Unified Court Budget Act, providing for full State financing of New York's court system. A centralized court system was ordained by a 1978 amendment to the State constitution. Principal management authority for the centralized system was vested in the State administrator, appointed by the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals. It is observed that the ultimate goal of these and subsequent amendments to the New York State constitution should not be administrative unity of the judiciary, but timely and inexpensive justice.