2006 New York Code - Organization Of City Courts.

 
  § 2104. Organization of city courts.
    (a)  The  number of judges for each city court outside the city of New
  York, their jurisdiction and terms of office, and the methods  of  their
  selection and of filling vacancies in their offices shall be as provided
  in this section.
    (b)  Each  judge  of a city court, including acting city court judges,
  shall:
    (1) be an attorney admitted to practice law in this state for at least
  five years as of the date he or she commences the duties of office,  and
  be  a  resident  of the city in which he or she is elected or appointed,
  except that the judges of the Sherrill city court may reside anywhere in
  either Oneida or Madison counties, the acting judge of the  Oneida  city
  court  may  reside  anywhere  in Madison county, the acting judge of the
  Port Jervis city court may reside anywhere in either Sullivan or  Orange
  counties,  the  judges  of  the Hudson city court may reside anywhere in
  Columbia county, the acting judge of the Mechanicville  city  court  may
  reside  anywhere  in  Saratoga  county  and one judge of the Cohoes city
  court may reside anywhere in Albany county.
    (2) exercise all jurisdiction possessed by the court on  which  he  or
  she serves.
    (3) serve a term of six years, except that full-time judges each shall
  serve a term of ten years.
    (c)  An  acting  city  court  judge  shall serve during the absence or
  disability of a judge of the court on which he or she  serves,  or  when
  requested  to  serve by a judge of the court or an administrative judge.
  City courts in each of the following cities shall each have  one  acting
  city  court  judge:  Auburn, Beacon, Canandaigua, Dunkirk, Geneva, Glens
  Falls, Gloversville, Jamestown,  Johnstown,  Lackawanna,  Little  Falls,
  Lockport,  Mechanicville,  Norwich,  Olean,  Oneida,  Oswego, Peekskill,
  Plattsburgh, Port Jervis, Rensselaer, Rye, Salamanca, and Watervliet.
    (d) A full-time judge of a city court shall not engage in the practice
  of law, act as an arbitrator, referee, or compensated  mediator  in  any
  action or proceeding, or engage in the conduct of any other professional
  business  that  interferes  with  the performance of his or her judicial
  duties.
    (e) The number of judges of the city court in each city, exclusive  of
  acting  city  court  judges,  shall  be  as  provided  herein. Full-time
  judgeships are specifically so designated, all others are part-time:
    Par.  Name of city
    1   Albany, four full-time and one part-time;
    2   Amsterdam, two;
    3   Auburn, one full-time;
    4   Batavia, two;
    5   Beacon, one;
    6   Binghamton, two full-time and one part-time;
    7   Buffalo, thirteen full-time;
    8   Canandaigua, one;
    9   Cohoes, two;
    10  Corning, two;
    11  Cortland, one full-time and one part-time;
    12  Dunkirk, one;
    13  Elmira, one full-time and one part-time;
    14  Fulton, two;
    15  Geneva, two;
    16  Glen Cove, two;
    17  Glens Falls, one full-time;
    18  Gloversville, one full-time;
    19  Hornell, two;


    20  Hudson, two;
    21  Ithaca, one full-time and one part-time;
    22  Jamestown, one full-time;
    23  Johnstown, one;
    24  Kingston, one full-time and one part-time;
    25  Lackawanna, one full-time;
    26  Little Falls, one;
    27  Lockport, one full-time;
    28  Long Beach, one full-time and one part-time;
    29  Mechanicville, one;
    30  Middletown, one full-time and one part-time;
    31  Mount Vernon, three full-time and one part-time;
    32  Newburgh, two full-time;
    33  New Rochelle, two full-time and one part-time;
    34  Niagara Falls, three full-time;
    35  North Tonawanda, one full-time and one part-time;
    36  Norwich, one;
    37  Ogdensburg, two;
    38  Olean, one;
    39  Oneida, one;
    40  Oneonta, two;
    41  Oswego, one full-time;
    42  Peekskill, one full-time;
    43  Plattsburgh, one full-time;
    44  Port Jervis, one;
    45  Poughkeepsie, one full-time and one part-time;
    46  Rensselaer, one;
    47  Rochester, nine full-time;
    48  Rome, one full-time and one part-time;
    49  Rye, one;
    50  Salamanca, one;
    51  Saratoga Springs, one full-time and one part-time;
    52  Schenectady, three full-time;
    53  Sherrill, one;
    54  Syracuse, seven full-time and one part-time;
    55  Tonawanda, one full-time and one part-time;
    56  Troy, one full-time and one part-time;
    57  Utica, three full-time;
    58  Watertown, one full-time and one part-time;
    59  Watervliet, one;
    60  White Plains, two full-time and two part-time;
    61  Yonkers, six full-time.
    (f)  Method  of  selection; vacancies. (1) Each judge of a city court,
  including acting city court  judges,  shall  be  elected  for  the  term
  provided in this section, except that each of the following judges shall
  be appointed:
    (i)  by  the  mayor of the city for which the court on which he or she
  will serve has been established, with the advice and consent of the city
  council: acting city court judge of Beacon, city court judge of  Corning
  who  serves  in  the  office that formerly was that of acting city court
  judge of Corning, part-time city court judge of  Cortland,  acting  city
  court  judge  of  Gloversville,  one  city  court judge of Glen Cove who
  serves in the office that  on  June  first,  two  thousand  one  was  an
  appointive  office  pursuant  to this subparagraph, part-time city court
  judge of Ithaca, acting city court judge of Jamestown, acting city court
  judge of Olean,  city  court  judge  and  acting  city  court  judge  of
  Plattsburgh,  acting  city  court judge of Port Jervis, city court judge


  and acting city court judge of Rye, acting city court judge of Salamanca
  and the part-time city court judge of Watertown.
    (ii)  by  the city council of the city for which the court on which he
  or she will serve has been  established:  acting  city  court  judge  of
  Auburn,  city  court  judge  of  Batavia  who  serves in the office that
  formerly was that of acting city court judge  of  Batavia,  acting  city
  court  judge  of Canandaigua, acting city court judge of Johnstown, city
  court judge  of  Newburgh  who  serves  in  the  office  that  on  March
  thirty-first, two thousand one was part-time, acting city court judge of
  Norwich,  city court judge and acting city court judge of Peekskill, and
  city court judges of White Plains.
    (iii) by the mayor of the city for which the court on which he or  she
  will   serve  has  been  established:  part-time  city  court  judge  of
  Binghamton, city court judges of Cohoes,  acting  city  court  judge  of
  Dunkirk,  city  court  judge  of  Fulton  who  serves in the office that
  formerly was that of acting city court  judge  of  Fulton,  acting  city
  court  judge  of  Geneva,  city court judge of Hornell who serves in the
  office that formerly was that of acting city  court  judge  of  Hornell,
  city  court  judge  of Hudson who serves in the office that formerly was
  that of acting city court judge of Hudson, part-time city court judge of
  Kingston, acting city court judge of Lackawanna, acting city court judge
  of Little Falls, acting city court judge of Lockport, acting city  court
  judge  of  Mechanicville,  part-time city court judge of Middletown, the
  part-time city court judge of Mount Vernon, part-time city  court  judge
  of  New  Rochelle and full-time city court judge of such city who serves
  in the office created during the calendar year commencing January first,
  two thousand one, part-time city court judge of  North  Tonawanda,  city
  court  judge  of  Ogdensburg  who serves in the office that formerly was
  that of acting city court judge of Ogdensburg, acting city  court  judge
  of  Oneida,  city  court  judge of Oneonta who serves in the office that
  formerly was that of acting city court judge  of  Oneonta,  acting  city
  court  judge  of  Oswego, city court judges of Poughkeepsie, acting city
  court judge of  Rensselaer,  part-time  city  court  judge  of  Saratoga
  Springs,  part-time  city court judge of Tonawanda and acting city court
  judge of Watervliet. Provided, however, the following special provisions
  shall be applicable in the city of Poughkeepsie:
    (A) except as otherwise provided in clause (B) of  this  subparagraph,
  the  mayor  shall  submit  the  name  of the person he or she intends to
  appoint to fill a vacancy in the office of city  court  judge,  together
  with  such  background information as he or she may deem appropriate, to
  an advisory  judicial  screening  committee.  Such  committee  shall  be
  comprised  of  three  residents of the city of Poughkeepsie, two of whom
  shall be attorneys duly licensed and in good standing to practice law in
  the state of New York and who shall be designated by  the  president  of
  the  Dutchess  county  bar  association,  and  one  of  whom  shall be a
  non-lawyer who shall be designated by  the  president  of  the  Dutchess
  county community college.  Within thirty days after such submission, the
  committee shall rate the person named therein for his or her fitness for
  the  office  of Poughkeepsie city court judge and shall notify the mayor
  in writing of such rating, which may be "highly-qualified", "qualified",
  or "not rated". The committee's rating shall be advisory  only  and  the
  mayor's  authority  to appoint the person whose name has been submitted,
  or to choose not to appoint such person, shall not in any way be limited
  thereby.
    (B) In the event that a vacancy in the office of city court  judge  of
  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie  is anticipated to occur on the first day of
  January of any year in which a new  mayoral  term  shall  commerce,  the
  person  who will assume the office of mayor on such first day of January


  shall submit the name of the person he or she intends to appoint to fill
  such vacancy to the advisory judicial screening committee not later than
  the immediately preceding first day of December.
    (iv) by the city commission of the city in which the court on which he
  or she will serve has been established: city court judge of Sherrill.
    (2)  Whenever a vacancy in the office of city court judge occurs other
  than by expiration of term, it shall be filled as herein provided:
    (i) If the office is elective, the acting  city  court  judge  of  the
  court  on  which  the vacancy has occurred or, if there be more than one
  acting city court judge of such  court,  the  acting  city  court  judge
  senior  in  service,  shall  fill  the  vacancy  temporarily  until  the
  thirty-first day of December following the next general city election at
  which the vacancy can be filled. At such election, a successor shall  be
  elected  to  fill  the vacancy for a full term of office, to commence on
  January first next thereafter. If there is no acting city court judge of
  the court on which the vacancy has occurred or if the  incumbent  acting
  city  court judge declines to serve as provided herein or if the vacancy
  is in the office of acting city court judge, the mayor of  the  city  in
  which  the  court  on  which  the  vacancy has occurred is located shall
  appoint a qualified person to fill it temporarily as  provided  in  this
  subparagraph.  Where  an  acting city court judge fills a vacancy in the
  office of city court judge pursuant to this subparagraph:
    (A) he or she shall not be deemed to have vacated the office of acting
  city court judge, his or her term in such office shall not be deemed  to
  have  been  interrupted  and,  upon  expiration of service as city court
  judge hereunder, he or she shall resume service  as  acting  city  court
  judge for the remainder of such term;
    (B)  for  the  duration  of  such service, he or she shall be paid the
  compensation provided by law for the office of city court judge  thereby
  filled; and
    (C)  the  mayor may appoint a qualified person to serve as acting city
  court judge in his or her stead for a period not to  exceed  the  period
  during which he or she serves as city court judge hereunder.
    (ii)  If the office is appointive, a successor shall be selected for a
  full term in the manner provided in paragraph one of this subdivision.
    (g) Notwithstanding the designation hereunder of a  judge  of  a  city
  court  as  part-time or as an acting city court judge, such judge shall,
  for purposes of determining his or her entitlement to credit  under  the
  retirement  and  social security law for service rendered prior to April
  first, nineteen hundred ninety-four, be deemed to work full time.