BILL NUMBER:  S6538

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the uniform justice court act, in
relation to justices presiding in an off-hours arraignment part

This measure is being introduced at the request of the Chief
Administrative Judge.

This measure would amend the Uniform Justice Court Act to correct an
oversight in chapter 492 of the Laws of 2016, which authorized the
establishment of off-hours arraignment parts. This measure would
permit Town and Village Justices to hold their courts outside their
respective towns and villages for the limited purpose of presiding
over an off-hours arraignment part established in another municipality
located in the same county.

Chapter 492 was enacted to help ensure that criminal defendants can be
represented by counsel at arraignment. It does this by authorizing
creation of special, off-hours arraignment parts in local criminal
courts, parts that can be established in a few central locations.
Because law enforcement is authorized to bring a criminal defendant to
the off-hours part in a county regardless of where in that county that
defendant was arrested, the availability of these off-hours parts,
which are solely for the purpose of conducting arraignments and
preliminary proceedings incidental to them, and presiding over returns
on arrest warrants, should make it easier for the limited number of
              

lawyers available in many communities - especially upstate - to meet
the representation needs of those defendants in those communities.

As enacted, the statute was intended to permit use of all the local
judges in a county including City Court Judges and Town and Village
Justices - to serve in an off-hours part for that county established
in one of the county's local criminal courts on a rotating basis. At
the time of enactment, it was believed that this could be done by
using the provisions of the Uniform Justice Court Act (§ 106) and the
Uniform City Court Act (§ 107) to temporarily assign judges and
justices from courts outside the court in which an off-hours part had
been established to serve on such court in such part. We have
discovered, however, that, under circumstances where it is useful to
establish an off-hours part in a City Court, Town and Village Justices
are eligible for temporary assignment to that part only where they are
lawyers admitted to practice in New York for at least five years. See
UCCA § 107  "The chief administrator of the courts may temporarily
assign any judge or justice of a city, town or village court to a city
court . . .; provided, however, no town or village justice may be
temporarily assigned hereunder unless he or she is an attorney
admitted to practice law in this state for at least five years." . In
view of the fact that, particularly north of the Hudson Valley, many
if not most of the State's Town and Village Justices are non-lawyers,
this is a considerable obstacle to a critical objective in chapter 492
- which is that, where an off-hours part is established in a county,
all of the local criminal court judicial officers in that county
should take tours of duty presiding over that part regardless of where
in the county it has been established.

This measure would eliminate this obstacle. It would do so by
obviating the need for a temporary assignment of a lay Town or Village
Justice to another municipality, to enable him or her to preside over
an off-hours part established in that municipality. It provides the
alternative whereby, rather than being temporarily assigned to another
court, such a Justice could hold his or her own court in the
municipality where the off-hours part is established. In such fashion,
where that municipality is a city, there will be no requirement that
the Justice be a lawyer because he or she will not thereby be sitting
in a City Court.

There is longstanding precedent for allowing a Town or Village Justice
to hold his or her court outside the municipal boundaries of his or
her town or village. See UJCA §§ 106(3)-(10) (and especially §§
106(6), (8) and (9), permitting any Town or Village Justice of a local
criminal court in Onondaga, Jefferson and Rockland Counties,
respectively, to hold his or her own court anywhere in such County for
the purpose of conducting arraignments and appearance proceedings
pursuant to a bench warrant).

This measure would not disturb the Chief Administrative Judge's
authority to temporarily assign a Town or Village Justice to another
Town or Village Court to preside over an off-hours part. It simply
provides an alternative means by which a non-lawyer Justice may
preside over such a part where it is established in a city, thereby
facilitating the ability to establish off-hours arraignment parts in
every jurisdiction within a county. Moreover, it clarifies that, under
such circumstances, the affected Justice may only conduct arraignments
and other preliminary proceedings incidental thereto, and preside over
arrest warrant returns.

This measure, which would have no fiscal impact, would take effect
immediately.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

None. New proposal.