- 2018 - HOW TO BECOME A JUDGE The Association of the Bar of the City of New York Special Committee to Encourage Judicial Service © 2018 74022875_1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................1 A. The Purpose of This Booklet ...................................................................................1 B. Sources of Further and Updated Information ..........................................................1 C. Prior Trial Experience and Political Party Affiliation or Activity May Not Be Necessary ............................................................................................................2 D. Bar Association Review of Candidates....................................................................3 E. Standards of Review ................................................................................................3 F. When to Apply .........................................................................................................4 II. New York City Courts .......................................................................................................4 A. Appointments to Terms on the Family Court and Criminal Court and to Interim Appointments to Fill Unexpired Terms for Vacancies on the Civil Court ........................................................................................................................4 B. Election to the Civil Court of the City of New York ...............................................6 C. Housing Part of the Civil Court ...............................................................................7 III. New York State Courts ......................................................................................................8 A. Election to the Supreme Court of the State of New York........................................8 B. Interim Appointments to Fill Vacancies and Unexpired Terms on the Supreme Court .......................................................................................................10 C. Acting Supreme Court Justice ...............................................................................10 D. Supreme Court, Appellate Terms ..........................................................................11 E. Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First and Second Departments.....................11 F. Court of Claims ......................................................................................................12 G. Surrogate’s Court ...................................................................................................13 H. Court of Appeals ....................................................................................................14 I. Judicial Hearing Officer .........................................................................................15 74022875_1 i J. Supreme Court Special Master (volunteer)............................................................16 K. Civil Court Arbitrator (paid) ..................................................................................16 L. Civil Court Small Claims Arbitrator (volunteer) ...................................................17 M. Family Court Support Magistrates (paid) ..............................................................18 N. Court Attorney-Referee (paid) ...............................................................................18 O. Community Dispute Resolution Mediator (paid) ..................................................19 P. State Administrative Law Judge ............................................................................19 IV. United States Courts ........................................................................................................20 A. United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit .........................................20 B. United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York .......................................................................................................................20 C. United States Magistrate Judge ..............................................................................21 D. United States Bankruptcy Judge ............................................................................22 E. Administrative Law Judge .....................................................................................22 F. Arbitrator for the Eastern District of New York ....................................................23 V. Committee Members……………………………………...............................................25 74022875_1 ii Appendices Page APPENDIX A New York City Bar Associations (Partial Listing) .............................................27 APPENDIX B Political Organizations (Partial Listing) .............................................................28 APPENDIX C Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary .. Error! Bookmark not defined. APPENDIX D Mayor’s Executive Order No. 4 .......................... Error! Bookmark not defined. APPENDIX E The Advisory Council of the Housing Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. APPENDIX F Governor’s Executive Order No. 15 ................... Error! Bookmark not defined. APPENDIX G State of New York Commission on Judicial NominationError! Bookmark not defined. APPENDIX H State Screening Committees ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined. APPENDIX I Sample Judicial Screening Committee QuestionsError! Bookmark not defined. 74022875_1 iii HOW TO BECOME A JUDGE Association of the Bar of the City of New York Special Committee to Encourage Judicial Service I. Introduction A. The Purpose of This Booklet The Special Committee to Encourage Judicial Service is seeking to expand the number of qualified candidates for judicial office by encouraging applications from persons who previously have not applied, including those from groups historically unrepresented or underrepresented in the judiciary as a whole, or in specific judicial offices, such as appellate courts. In furtherance of these goals, this booklet is intended to provide a description of the methods of judicial selection; the relevant governmental, political, and other bodies that participate in the selection processes; and the statutory and other criteria applicable to the selection process for each judicial position. This information applies to federal and state judicial offices in the City of New York, although some information is also applicable to judicial positions outside the City of New York. Of particular interest in New York City, with respect to Civil Court and Supreme Court, which are elected positions, the process for seeking political support varies from county to county. With respect to appointment to Criminal, Family, and Housing Courts, the selection process is centralized and does not vary from county to county. While many judicial positions are elective, a substantial number are appointive and are based on the recommendations of judicial screening or nominating committees, which accept applications from all eligible attorneys. In some instances, appointments are also made to fill vacancies in elective positions. The following is a partial list of judicial positions that are filled by appointment: Family Court, Criminal Court, Interim Civil Court, Housing Court, Interim Supreme Court, Court of Claims, Interim Surrogate’s Court, and Court of Appeals. All federal judicial positions are filled by appointment. This booklet also describes several paid and unpaid quasi-judicial positions, such as arbitrator and support magistrate, which may provide a lawyer with an opportunity to serve in a decision-making capacity, as opposed to an adversarial position, to determine his or her affinity for a judicial role. Those interested in any of these judicial positions are urged to follow the judicial and legislative processes developments in the press, in judicial decisions, and on government websites. B. Sources of Further and Updated Information Much of the information in this booklet is subject to change. The booklet is current through November 2018. Current information about specific judicial offices may be obtained from the sources identified in each respective section of this booklet. 1 74022875_1 The judiciary committees of county bar associations in the City of New York, listed in Appendix A, may be sources of further information. C. Prior Trial Experience and Political Party Affiliation or Activity May Not Be Necessary 1. Political Party Affiliation and Activity With respect to Family Court, Criminal Court, and Housing Court, political party affiliation and activity, once a virtual prerequisite to obtaining judicial office, is not a listed criterion employed by the statutory nominating bodies (e.g., Advisory Council to the Housing Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York and the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary). Political affiliation or activity may be a consideration of the ultimate appointing authority. In some counties, historically dominated by a single political party, the selection of candidates for nomination by that party has been virtually tantamount to election in the general election. In most counties, political considerations, including a history of political party activity, contributions to political party organizations, and acquaintance with political party officials, may influence the selection process to varying degrees. Even where the nomination process appears to be virtually controlled by local political party organizations, the use of screening panels by these organizations has resulted in the nomination of candidates with little prior political involvement. The use of screening committees by the various county political organizations has expanded in recent years. Because political party organizations have been involved in the selection of candidates for some of the judicial positions described in this booklet—especially elected judgeships—it may be helpful to communicate with local or county political party organizations to obtain further information about candidate selection, including the application process for any pre- primary election screening bodies. This is important because the procedures of these screening bodies may change from year to year. Appendix B to this booklet lists some of the political organizations involved in the process of judicial selection. 2. Litigation Experience Traditionally, it was believed that a candidate for judicial office was required to possess substantial trial experience in order to receive serious consideration. While trial experience remains helpful, extensive trial experience may not be essential for many judicial positions. Over the years, non-litigators, including law secretaries, law clerks, professors, administrators, and lawyers holding positions in government and private sector organizations, have been selected for judicial office and have proven their ability to learn and perform the duties of judicial officers. The realization that good jurists do not come exclusively from the courtroom, combined with the goal of many merit selection judicial screening or nominating bodies to broaden the pool of potential candidates, has led to a decrease in the importance of prior litigation experience. 2 74022875_1 D. Bar Association Review of Candidates In addition to the selection processes discussed in this booklet, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, in conjunction with the county bar association in the relevant county, investigates and evaluates the qualifications of all candidates for judicial office in the City of New York. The results of these reviews are reported to the appointing authority in the case of appointed judgeships, and to the public by press release in the case of elective judgeships. A bar association review typically includes the candidate’s response to a questionnaire submitted by the association, one or more interviews with representatives of the judiciary committee of the association, review of the candidate’s writings and interviews by committee members of adversaries, judges, and others with whom the candidate has dealt. Appendix A lists the various county bar associations. See Appendix I for a sample of questions a committee may ask. E. Standards of Review The descriptions of the judicial positions discussed in this booklet indicate the minimum qualifications required by statute for each position. In addition, the various nominating, screening, reviewing, and appointing bodies may have developed other requirements. It is difficult to set forth definitive criteria for evaluating candidates for judicial office. The general standards most often stated include: General intellectual ability; Knowledge of the law, including knowledge of the specific body of law applicable to the court in which the position is sought. Because judges often sit in courts to which they were not originally elected or appointed (e.g., Civil Court judges may sit by assignment in the Criminal Court or in the Criminal Term of the Supreme Court), knowledge of other areas of the law also is important; Appropriate demeanor and judicial temperament, including an ability to deal patiently and considerately with both attorneys and pro se litigants and, in the case of appellate courts, with other judges in a collegial setting; Industriousness and a proven willingness to work hard; An ability to discern facts and weigh conflicting evidence; An ability to understand legal arguments and to make prompt, correct determinations of legal issues; An absence of bias and a commitment to equal justice for all; Integrity, candor, and an absence of outside political or other influence; and 3 74022875_1 A commitment to public service, particularly to judicial service. F. When to Apply Vacancies in judicial offices and the commencement of selection processes are usually announced in the press. However, the announcement may be small and may be printed only by the New York Law Journal and on courts’ websites. In some cases (e.g., selections made by the Mayor’s Advisory Committee), the selection process is an ongoing one. Accordingly, regular inquiry of the appointing, nominating, reviewing, and screening bodies listed in this booklet is suggested in order to assure that a potential candidate is aware of a vacancy in time to complete the application process. Additional information on anticipated vacancies may be available from Hon. Lawrence K. Marks, Chief Administrative Judge, The Office of Court Administration, 25 Beaver Street, Rm. 852, New York, New York 10004, (212) 428-2120. II. New York City Courts A. Appointments to Terms on the Family Court and Criminal Court and to Interim Appointments to Fill Unexpired Terms for Vacancies on the Civil Court General Comments – Appointment of Family Court and Criminal Court Judges and interim appointments (of up to one year) to fill vacancies on the Civil Court are made by the Mayor of the City of New York 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 as follows: 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 two deans of law schools in the City of New York, on an annual rotating basis, each nominate one member. The Mayor’s approval of selections is necessary. See Appendix D. Questionnaires and other information may be obtained from the Committee at: Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary Desireé Kim, Executive Director nd 100 Gold Street, 2 Floor New York, New York 10038 Tel. (212) 788-6800 Fax (212) 312-0970 Additional information is available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/acj/html/home/home.shtml. Generally, nominees of the Mayor’s Committee are reviewed by the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary and the Judiciary Committee of the Bar Association of the 4 74022875_1 City of New York and will not be selected or appointed if found not qualified by those committees. For a list of the present membership of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee, see Appendix C. The application for the Mayor’s Advisory Committee is available on the Internet at http://www1.nyc.gov/site/acj/application/application.page. See also Appendix I. 1. Jurisdiction of Family Court, Criminal Court and Civil Court i. Family Court The Family Court has jurisdiction over actions and proceedings concerning (1) the protection, treatment, correction and commitment of minors in need of the exercise of the authority of the court because of circumstances of neglect, delinquency, or dependency, as the legislature may determine; (2) the custody of minors, except for custody incidental to actions and proceedings for marital separation, divorce, annulment of marriage, and dissolution of marriage; (3) the adoption of persons; (4) the support of dependents, except when incidental to actions and proceedings in this state for marital separation, divorce, annulment of marriage, or dissolution of marriage; (5) the establishment of paternity; (6) proceedings for conciliation of spouses; and (7) as may be provided by law, the guardianship of minors, in conformity with the provisions of section seven of this article, and crimes and offenses by or against minors or between spouses or between parent and child or between members of the same family or household. The family court may also take jurisdiction over certain matters referred to it by the Supreme Court. N.Y. Const. art. 6, §§ 13(b)(1)–13(b)(7), 13(c), and art. 6, § 7(a). ii. Criminal Court The Criminal Court has Citywide criminal jurisdiction over crimes and other violations of law, other than those prosecuted by indictment, provided, however, that the Legislature may grant to the Criminal Court jurisdiction over misdemeanors prosecuted by indictment and over such other actions and proceedings not within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, as may be provided by law. N.Y. Const. art. 6, § 15(c). Specifically, this includes jurisdiction to hear, try and determine all misdemeanor charges, except libel, and all offenses of a grade less than misdemeanor. N.Y. City Crim. Ct. Act § 31. In addition, the Criminal Court has trial jurisdiction over all offenses other than felonies and preliminary jurisdiction of all offenses, subject to 5 74022875_1 divestment by the Supreme Court and its grand juries. N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 10.30(1). iii. Civil Court See point B below. 2. Selection Process Appointment by the Mayor of the City of New York from a list of candidates submitted by the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. See General Comments, II(A), supra; Fam. Ct. Act § 123; N.Y. City Crim. Ct. Act § 22(2). 3. Eligibility Requirements N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 124; N.Y. City Crim. Ct. Act § 22(1); N.Y. City Civ. Ct. Act § 102-a; N.Y. Const. art. 6, §§ 13, 15, 20. i. New York City resident. ii. Admitted to practice as an attorney in New York for ten years before selection. iii. Age limit - Service until December 31st of the year in which the judge reaches the age of 70. N.Y. Const. art. 6, § 25(b). 4. Term Ten years. N.Y. Const. art. 6, § 13(a); N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 123; N.Y. City Crim. Ct. Act § 22(2). 5. Salary i. Family Court: $208,000. ii. Criminal Court: $193,500. B. Election to the Civil Court of the City of New York General Comments – Political party nomination (especially the Democratic Party nomination, in all counties except Richmond) is very important for election. A candidate needs to file petitions to be considered a candidate for a party’s nomination in the General Election. Petitions containing 4000 signatures are needed for a county-wide seat, and petitions containing 1500 signatures are necessary for a district seat. In practice, it is necessary to get additional signatures above the minimum—perhaps two or three times the minimum—as petitions may be challenged by opponents. Support from political clubs can ease a candidate’s burden in collecting signatures, as club members will frequently provide labor to collect signatures. In the counties, the presence of competing factions within the political parties has provided an opportunity for many well-qualified 6 74022875_1