S 1409: Relates to requiring certain town and village justices be admitted to practice law in the state; requires town and village justices in a town or village with a high arraignment volume be admitted to practice law in New York state for at least five years as of the date they commence the duties of office; provides the determination of a town or village with a high arraignment volume shall be made by the office of court administration in consultation with the division of criminal justice services.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1409 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 9, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. S. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the uniform justice court act, the town law and the village law, in relation to requiring certain town and village justices be admitted to practice law in the state The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 105 of the uniform justice court act is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision (a-1) to read as follows: 3 (a-1) Education. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 4 contrary, no person may serve as a town or village justice in a town or 5 village with a high arraignment volume unless they are an attorney 6 admitted to practice law in this state for at least five years as of the 7 date they commence the duties of office. For the purposes of this subdi- 8 vision, "town or village with a high arraignment volume" shall mean the 9 one hundred highest arraignment volumes in town and village courts in 10 the state as determined by the office of court administration in consul- 11 tation with the division of criminal justice services. The initial 12 determination shall be based on the sum of arraignments from two thou- 13 sand eighteen and two thousand nineteen. Subsequent determinations 14 shall take place every ten years thereafter and shall use the sum of at 15 least two years' data. Any change in the requirements for eligibility to 16 serve as a town or village justice in such town or village shall take 17 effect upon commencement of the next judicial term of office following 18 the designation as a town or village with a high arraignment volume. 19 Notwithstanding the foregoing, non-attorney justices in office as of the 20 effective date of this subdivision shall remain eligible to serve as a 21 justice for the court on which they currently sit. 22 § 2. Section 31 of the town law is amended by adding a new subdivision 23 2-a to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04265-01-5 
 S. 1409 2 1 2-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no 2 person may serve as a town justice in a town with a high arraignment 3 volume, as determined pursuant to subdivision (a-1) of section one 4 hundred five of the uniform justice court act, unless they are an attor- 5 ney admitted to practice law in this state for at least five years as of 6 the date they commence the duties of office. Any change in the require- 7 ments for eligibility to serve as a town justice in such town shall take 8 effect upon commencement of the next judicial term of office following 9 the designation as a town with a high arraignment volume. Notwithstand- 10 ing the foregoing, non-attorney justices in office as of the effective 11 date of this subdivision shall remain eligible to serve as a justice for 12 the court on which they currently sit. 13 § 3. Section 3-301 of the village law is amended by adding a new 14 subdivision 6 to read as follows: 15 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no 16 person may serve as a village justice in a village with a high arraign- 17 ment volume, as determined pursuant to subdivision (a-1) of section one 18 hundred five of the uniform justice court act, unless they are an attor- 19 ney admitted to practice law in this state for at least five years as of 20 the date they commence the duties of office. Any change in the require- 21 ments for eligibility to serve as a village justice in such village 22 shall take effect upon commencement of the next judicial term of office 23 following the designation as a village with a high arraignment volume. 24 Notwithstanding the foregoing, non-attorney justices in office as of the 25 effective date of this subdivision shall remain eligible to serve as a 26 justice for the court on which they currently sit. 27 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 28 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.