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The Criminal Court of the City of New York is a court of the State Unified Court System in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
that handles
misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...
s (generally,
crimes In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
punishable by fine or imprisonment of up to one year) and lesser offenses, and also conducts
arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the criminal charges against them. In response to arraignment, in some jurisdictions, the accused is expected to enter a plea; i ...
s (initial court appearances following arrest) and preliminary hearings in
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...
cases (generally, more serious offenses punishable by imprisonment of more than one year). It is a single citywide court. The Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for the New York City Courts is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the NYC trial-level courts, and works with the Administrative Judge of the Criminal Court in order to allocate and assign judicial and nonjudicial personnel resources. One hundred seven judges may be appointed by the
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
to ten-year terms, but most of those appointed have been transferred to other courts by the Office of Court Administration.


Criminal procedure

Most people who are
arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...
ed and prosecuted in New York City will appear before a Criminal Court judge for
arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the criminal charges against them. In response to arraignment, in some jurisdictions, the accused is expected to enter a plea; i ...
. The New York Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) is the primary
criminal procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...
law. Felonies are heard by the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. Some violations and other issues are adjudicated by other city and state
administrative court An administrative court is a type of specialized court on administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are usually co ...
s, e.g., Krimstock hearings are conducted by the city Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, parking violations are adjudicated by the city DOF Parking Violations Bureau, and non-parking traffic violations are adjudicated by the state DMV Traffic Violations Bureau.


Arrest to arraignment

New York police officers may
arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...
someone they have reason to believe has committed a
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...
,
misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...
, or violation, or pursuant to an
arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...
. Those arrested are booked at "central booking" and interviewed by a representative of the Criminal Justice Agency for the purposes of recommending bail or remand at arraignment. In New York state, the time from arrest to arraignment must be within 24 hours. Police may also release a person with an ''appearance ticket'' directing a defendant to appear for arraignment in the future: with a desk appearance ticket (DAT) after arrest, or a universal summons without arrest. At
arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the criminal charges against them. In response to arraignment, in some jurisdictions, the accused is expected to enter a plea; i ...
, the accused is informed of the charges against them and submits a
plea In law, a plea is a defendant's response to a criminal charge. A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. Depending on jurisdiction, additional pleas may be available, including '' nolo contendere'' (no contest), no case to answer (in the ...
(and may accept a
plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...
). The accused have a right to a lawyer. Arraignments are held every day from 9:00am to 1:00am. At arraignment the prosecutor may also provides defense counsel with certain "notices", such as notices about police lineups and statements made by the defendant to police. After notices are served, the prosecutor may ask, for certain offenses, the court to keep the accused in jail ( remanded) or released on
bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...
. Otherwise, the accused is released on their own
recognizance In some common law nations, a recognizance is a conditional pledge of money undertaken by a person before a court which, if the person defaults, the person or their sureties will forfeit that sum. It is an obligation of record, entered into before ...
(ROR'd) with the least restrictive conditions necessary to reasonably assure the person will come back to court. If the accused is released, the accused must appear in court every time their case is calendared (scheduled for a court hearing), and if they fail to appear the judge may forfeit their bail and issue a bench warrant for their arrest, although judges may excuse defendants from having to show up at every court appearance. The decision to set bail and the amount of bail to set are discretionary, and the central issue regarding bail is insuring the defendant's future appearances in court; factors to be taken into consideration are defined in . In practice, bail amounts are typically linked to charge severity rather than risk of
failure to appear A "failure to appear" (FTA), also known as "bail jumping", occurs when a defendant or respondent does not come before a tribunal as directed in a summons. In the United States, FTAs are punishable by fines, incarceration, or both when committed by ...
in court, judges overwhelmingly rely only on cash bail and commercial bail bonds instead of other forms of bail, and courts rarely inquire into the defendant's financial resources to understand what amount of bail might be securable by them.


Felony indictment

For those accused of a
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...
, their case is sent to a court part where felony cases await the action of the
grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...
. If the grand jury finds that there is enough evidence that the accused has committed a crime, it may file an
indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...
. If the accused waives their right to a grand jury, the prosecutor will file a Superior Court Information (SCI). If the grand jury votes an indictment, the case will be transferred from Criminal Court to the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
for another arraignment. This arraignment is similar to the arraignment in Criminal Court, and if the accused does not submit a guilty plea, the case will be adjourned to a calendar part. Felony defendants must be released on day if they haven't been indicted, which is to say that unless a grand jury has indicted the defendant and a hearing has commenced within 120 hours/5 days (with an additional 24 hours allowed for weekends and holidays, i.e., 144 hours/6 days), or proof that the indictment was voted within 120 hours, and unless the delay was due to a request of the defendant, and absent a compelling reason for the prosecution's delay, the defendant must be released on their own recognizance (ROR'd).


Pre-trial

A bail review in Supreme Court may be requested by misdemeanor defendants who cannot make bail at the day appearance (the five- to six-day deadline for conversion of a complaint to an information), normally to be scheduled three business days after the appearance. The government must be ready for trial within 6 months for a felony, 90 days for a class A misdemeanor, 60 days for a class B misdemeanor, and within 30 days for a violation, subject to excluded periods (ready rule). A defendant must be released on bail or ROR'd if they are in jail after a specified time of pretrial detention (bail review): within 90 days for a felony, within 30 days for an at-least-3-months misdemeanor, within 15 days for a maximum-3-months misdemeanor, and within 5 days for a violation, subject to excluded periods.
Plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...
negotiations take place in the AP Parts prior to the case being in a trial-ready posture, and depending upon caseloads, the judges in the AP Parts may conduct pre-trial and felony motion hearings. The most common pre-trial evidence suppression hearings are '' Mapp'' ( warrantless searches and
probable cause In United States criminal law, probable cause is the legal standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal and for a court's issuing of a search warrant. One definition of the standar ...
), '' Dunaway'' (confessions), '' Huntley'' (
Miranda rights In the United States, the ''Miranda'' warning is a type of notification customarily given by police to criminal suspects in police custody (or in a custodial interrogation) advising them of their right to silence and, in effect, protection ...
), '' Wade'' (identification evidence like lineups), and ''
Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...
'' ( ''Terry'' stops) hearings. Trial Parts also conduct pre-trial motion hearings, including ''
Sandoval Sandoval is a habitational surname of Spanish language, Spanish origin. It primarily originates from Sandoval de la Reina, Spain, earlier called ''Sannoval'', which is a blend word of Latin ''saltus'' (meaning 'grove' or 'wood') and Latin ''novalis ...
'' (
witness impeachment Witness impeachment, in the law of evidence of the United States, is the process of calling into question the credibility of an individual testifying in a trial. The Federal Rules of Evidence contain the rules governing impeachment in US federal ...
) and '' Molineux'' (admissibility of prior uncharged crimes) hearings. Once pretrial hearings are completed, the case is considered ready for trial and will usually be transferred to a courtroom that specializes in handling trials.


Trial

In New York State, only those individuals charged with a serious crime, defined as one where the defendant faces more than six months in jail, are entitled to a
jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are increasingly used ...
; those defendants facing six months' incarceration or less are entitled to a
bench trial A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a jury. The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a summary offense to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems ( Roman, Islamic) use bench trials ...
before a judge. Defendants in summons court may waive their right to a trial before a judge and have the trial held by a judicial hearing officer.


Appeal

Appeals are to the Appellate Terms of the New York Supreme Court, established separately in the First Department (Manhattan and the Bronx) and Second Department (Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island) of the Appellate Division.


Structure

There are several specialized parts of the Criminal Court which handle specific subject areas.


Summons court

The Summons All Purpose Part (SAP) hears cases brought to court by universal summonses issued by law enforcement personnel.People v. Vial, (1986) Summons court handles low-level offenses. Defendants may waive their right to a trial before a judge and have the trial held by a judicial hearing officer. The District Attorney does not staff the SAP Part. The
NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
's Legal Bureau has a memorandum of understanding with the
Manhattan District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County, New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws (federal la ...
allowing the NYPD to selectively prosecute summons court cases. The summons court is sometimes called the "People's Court" because Criminal Court judges routinely authorize summonses and informations based upon the sworn allegations of private citizens who seek redress for criminal acts against them, and the entire proceeding is generally one of private or court-conducted trial.


Problem-solving courts

The state court system has a number of problem-solving courts. The Midtown Community Court is a community court which arraigns defendants who are arrested in the
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
,
Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...
, and Chelsea neighborhoods and charged with any non-felony offense. The Red Hook Community Justice Center is a multi-jurisdictional community court in
Red Hook, Brooklyn Red Hook is a neighborhood in western Brooklyn, New York City, United States, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. It is located on a peninsula projecting into the Upper New York Bay and is bounded by the Gowanus Expressway and the Ca ...
, for example hearing family, civil and criminal "quality of life" cases, as well as youth court, and uses mediation, restitution, community service orders and drug treatment. Criminal Court operates domestic violence or "DV" courts within every county. Domestic violence courts are forums that focus on crimes related to domestic violence and abuse and improving the administration of justice surrounding these types of crimes. The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens operates DV Complexes, which include an All-Purpose Part and Trial Parts dedicated to adjudicating these types of crimes, while in Richmond all DV cases are heard in the regular AP Part.


Other

Defendants arraigned on felony or misdemeanor complaints are initially arraigned in the arraignment part of the Criminal Court. The all-purpose or "AP" parts are the motion parts of the Criminal Court. Plea bargain negotiations take place in these courtrooms prior to the case being in a trial-ready posture, and depending upon caseloads the judges in the AP Parts may conduct pre-trial hearings, felony hearings, and bench trials. Criminal Court has preliminary jurisdiction over felony cases filed in New York City, and retains jurisdiction of the felony cases until a grand jury hears the case and indicts the defendant. Defendants charged with felonies are arraigned in the Criminal Court arraignment parts and cases are then usually sent to a felony waiver part to await grand jury action. Felony waiver parts are staffed by Criminal Court judges designated as Acting Supreme Court Justices. Felony waiver parts also hear motions, bail applications, and extradition matters. Trial Parts in the Criminal Court handle most of the trials, although some trials are conducted in the AP parts.


Administration

The court is supervised by an Administrator, or Administrative Judge if a judge. The Deputy Chief Administrator for the New York City Courts, or Deputy Chief Administrative Judge if a judge, is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the trial-level courts located in New York City, and works with the Administrator of the Criminal Court in order to allocate and assign judicial and nonjudicial personnel resources to meet the needs and goals of those courts. The Criminal Court Administrator is assisted by Supervising Judges who are responsible in the on-site management of the trial courts, including court caseloads, personnel, and budget administration, and each manage a particular type of court within a county or judicial district. The chief clerk assists the administrators in carrying out their responsibilities for supervising the day-to-day operations of the trial courts. The Criminal Court Act made the City responsible for costs for personnel etc. The court is not included in the New York State Courts Electronic Filing System (NYSCEF). In the
State Legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...
, the Senat
Judiciary
and Assembl
Judiciary
standing committees conduct legislative oversight, budget advocacy, and otherwise report bills on the judicial branch, both state and local courts. The City Barbr>Criminal Courts Committee
studies the workings of the criminal courts, while th
Criminal Justice Operations Committee
analyzes the criminal justice system more broadly.


Personnel


Judges

New York City Criminal Court judges are appointed by the
Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...
to 10-year terms from a list of candidates submitted by the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. The Mayor's Advisory Committee is composed of up to nineteen members, all of whom are volunteers and are appointed with the Mayor's approval: the Mayor selects nine members; the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals nominates four members; the Presiding Justices of the Appellate Divisions of the Supreme Court for the First and Second Judicial Departments each nominate two members; and deans of the law schools within New York City, on an annual rotating basis, each nominate one member. In addition, the Committee on the Judiciary of the
New York City Bar Association The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, commonly referred to as the New York City Bar Association (City Bar), founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization has been headquartere ...
, in conjunction with the county bar association in the relevant county, investigates and evaluates the qualifications of all candidates for judicial office in New York City. Once a judge is appointed by the Mayor to the Criminal Court, they can be transferred from one court to another by the Office of Court Administration, and after two years' service in the lower courts, they may be designated by the
Chief Administrator of the Courts The New York State Chief Administrator of the Courts (or Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts if a judge) oversees the administration and operation of the New York State Unified Court System. They are appointed by the Chief Judge of New York ...
as an Acting Supreme Court Justice with the same jurisdiction as a Supreme Court Justice upon consultation and agreement with the presiding justice of the appropriate Appellate Division. The mayor may appoint 107 Criminal Court judges, but only about 73 to 74 currently work in Criminal Court: 46 of these are mayorally appointed Criminal Court judges, and the remaining 27 are Civil Court judges (some elected and some mayorally appointed) assigned to Criminal Court; the other approximately 60 mayorally appointed Criminal Court judges have been designated Acting Supreme Court judges to sit in Supreme Court hearing felony cases.Alt URL
/ref>


Judicial hearing officers

Judicial hearing officers (JHOs) adjudicate most summons court (SAP Part) cases, assist in compliance parts in domestic violence cases, and in the
New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...
monitor substance abuse program defendants, conduct pre-trial suppression hearings and make recommended findings of fact and law to sitting judges. JHOs are appointed by the Chief Administrator.


Attorneys

By law, the city must provide criminal representation by any combination of a public defender, legal aid society, and/or panel of qualified lawyers (pursuant to County Lawbr>Article 18-B
. The Legal Aid Society is contracted as the city's primary provider of criminal legal aid, along with
New York County Defender Services New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
in Manhattan, Brooklyn Defender Services in Brooklyn,
The Bronx Defenders The Bronx Defenders is a public defender office located in the South Bronx neighborhood of New York City. At the Bronx Defenders, criminal defense lawyers work together with civil lawyers, family defense lawyers, immigration lawyers, non-attorney ...
in the Bronx, Queens Defenders in Queens, and the Neighborhood Defender Service in northern Manhattan. For a comparison of relative activity in 2009, legal aid societies handled 290,251 cases of which 568 went to trial, whereas 18-B lawyers represented 42,212 defendants of which 623 went to trial. The District Attorney does not staff the summons court (SAP Part), and the summons court proceedings are generally one of a private or court-conducted trial. District attorneys are legally permitted to delegate the prosecution of petty crimes or offenses, and the
NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
's Legal Bureau has a memorandum of understanding with the district attorneys, at least in Manhattan, allowing the NYPD to selectively prosecute summons court cases.


Analysis and criticism

The Court of Appeals ruled in 1991 that most people arrested must be released if they are not arraigned within 24 hours. In 2013, for the first time since 2001, the average time it took to arraign defendants fell below 24 hours in all five boroughs. But there have been accusations of systematic trial delays, especially with regards to the New York City stop-and-frisk program. Out of more than 11,000 misdemeanor cases pending in 2012 in the Bronx, there were 300 misdemeanor trials. The Bronx criminal courts were responsible for more than half of the cases in New York City's criminal courts that were over two years old, and for two-thirds of the defendants waiting for their trials in jail for more than five years. In 2016, councilman Rory Lancman, noting that only about half of the about 107 appointed Criminal Court judges currently serve because the Chief Administrative Judge and Office of Court Administration have transferred them to Supreme Court to hear felony cases, said major reasons for the backlogs were a shortage of judges, court officers and courtrooms; a haphazard discovery process that frustrates timely plea deal negotiations; and a speedy trial statute unique to New York that allows the parties to game the system. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
editorial board The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...
has criticized the Criminal Court judges for rarely excusing defendants from having to show up at every court appearance, as allowed by law, instead requiring them "to return to court every several weeks and spend all day waiting for their cases to be called, only to be told that the proceedings are being put off for another month ... eaningthese defendants miss work, lose wages and in some cases their jobs." New York City's use of remand (pre-trial detention) has also been criticized. Almost without exception, New York judges only set two kinds of
bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...
at arraignment, straight cash or commercial bail bond, while other options exist such as partially secured bonds, which only require a tenth of the full amount as a
down payment In accounting, a down payment (also called a deposit in British English) is an initial up-front partial payment for the purchase of expensive goods or services such as a car or a house. It is usually paid in cash or equivalent at the time of fin ...
to the court (and presumably refunded when redeemed), and unsecured bonds, which don't require any up front payment. The New York City Criminal Justice Agency has stated that only 44 percent of defendants offered bail are released before their case concludes. A report by
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
found that among defendants arrested in New York City in 2008 on nonfelony charges who had bail set at $1,000 or less, 87 percent were jailed because they were unable to post the bail amount at their
arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the criminal charges against them. In response to arraignment, in some jurisdictions, the accused is expected to enter a plea; i ...
, and that 39 percent of the city's jail population consisted of pre-trial detainees who were in jail because they had not posted bail. A report by the
Vera Institute of Justice The Vera Institute of Justice (originally the Vera Foundation) is a United States 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit think tank focused on criminal justice reform. It was founded in 1961 in New York City. Founding Philanthropist Loui ...
concluded that, in Manhattan, black and Latino defendants were more likely to be held in jail before trial and more likely to be offered plea bargains that include a prison sentence than whites and Asians charged with the same crimes. It is said that excessive pre-trial detention and the accompanying systematic trial delays are used to pressure defendants to accept plea bargains. In June 2014 it was reported that
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
's change to a more wealthy, more Caucasian population has had a negative effect for defendants in the criminal cases of Brooklyn, which is largely composed of minorities, and reductions in awards in civil cases. It was called the Williamsburg effect because of that neighborhood's gentrification. Brooklyn defense lawyer Julie Clark said that these new jurors are "much more trusting of police." Another lawyer, Arthur Aidala said: Brooklyn district attorney Kenneth P. Thompson had argued that most people don't understand how summons court operates, resulting in missed court dates and automatic bench warrants; that the omission of race and ethnicity information on the summons form should be remedied, to provide statistics of summons recipients; that poor access to public defenders by indigent persons in summons courts raises serious due process concerns; and that the city needs to overhaul its summons system, to handle quality-of-life infractions better and in a timely manner.


History

The New York City Court of Special Sessions was created in 1744, from a court created in 1732. (The New York County Court of General Sessions tried felonies as a county court, whereas Bronx, Kings, Queens, and Richmond counties had a regular County Court.) In 1848 the city Police Courts or Magistrates' Courts were created, elected within six districts. In 1910 both city courts were reconstituted after the city's consolidation. The Court of Special Sessions tried misdemeanors like other cities' police courts, and the Magistrates' Courts tried petty criminal cases. The Criminal Court was established effective 1 September 1962 by the New York City Criminal Court Act of the 173rd New York State Legislature and Governor
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...
, replacing the City Magistrates' Courts and the Court of Special Sessions. (The work and personnel of the New York County Court of General Sessions, and the County Court in Bronx, Kings, Queens, and Richmond counties, were transferred to the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
.) In 1969–1970, extrajudicial
administrative court An administrative court is a type of specialized court on administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are usually co ...
s were created to offload a large volume of cases from the Criminal Court: the state DMV Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB), which adjudicates non-parking traffic violations, and the city DOF Parking Violations Bureau, which adjudicates parking violations. Though the state had created Narcotics Parts (N Parts) in the city's Supreme Court in 1971, in 1993 the Criminal Court implemented its first problem-solving court in the Midtown Community Court.


Manhattan courthouse

The Criminal Courthouse building is a 17-story
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
-style building at 100 Centre Street in lower Manhattan designed by Wiley Corbett and Charles B. Meyers, and constructed from 1938-41. It was built on the site of the 1894 Criminal Courthouse and the original Tombs prison.


Popular culture

The 1980's sitcom ''
Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on NBC on January 4, 1984, and ended on May 31, 1992, after nine seasons consisting of List of Night Court episodes, 193 episodes. The show is set in the night shift of a Manhattan ...
'' was inspired by the evening court sessions held in the Criminal Courthouse building in Manhattan from 5:00 pm to 1:00 am; however, the exterior of the New York County Courthouse is shown in the show's opening sequence. Tourists sometimes view the evening sessions from the public galleries.


See also

* New York City Civil Court *
Government of New York City The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the ...
*
Law of New York (state) The law of New York consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory and case law, and also includes local laws, ordinances, and regulations. The ''Consolidated Laws of New York, Consolidated Laws'' form the gene ...


Citations


General and cited references

* Chapter 697, enacted 24 April 1962, effective 1 September 1962. Senate Bill, Introductory Number 3716, Printed Number 4674. * * *


External links


Legal Referral Service
(a lawyer referral service) from the
New York City Bar Association The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, commonly referred to as the New York City Bar Association (City Bar), founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization has been headquartere ...

New York City Criminal Court
official webpage on the New York State Unified Court System website
Inmate Lookup Service
of the NYCDOC {{Authority control Government of New York City New York state courts Municipal courts 1962 establishments in New York City Courts and tribunals established in 1962