IX.—JUDICIARY.
A tabular view of the judiciary of the State, commencing with the lowest courts and showing them in their regular order, leaving out such as are established for particular localities.
I. Justice Court
II. County Court. 1. County Court 2. Sessions.
III. Supreme 1. Circuit. 2. Oyer and Terminer. 3. Special Term. 4. General Term.
IV. Court of Appeals.
JUSTICE COURT.
Q. What is the lowest court in the State?
A. A Justice's Court, held in each town by one of the justices of the Peace.
Q. What jurisdiction has this court?
A. Original; that is, suits can be commenced in it, and tried in it.
Q. In a civil action how large a judgment can be obtained?
A. Not to exceed two hundred dollars.
Q. Can criminal suits be tried in a Justice Court?
A. Some can be tried in it; but usually the parties give bail for their appearance at a higher court to await the action of the Grand Jury.
COUNTY COURT.
Q. What is the next higher court?
A. The County Court.
Q. What are the divisions of the County Court?
A. County Court and Court of Sessions.
Q. For what causes are each designed?
A. The County Court is for the trial of civil causes, the Sessions for the trial of criminal causes, but not of the higher crimes.
Q. What jurisdiction has the County Court?
A. Original and Appellate, that is a suit may be commenced in it, or it may be appealed from a lower court.
Q. What jurisdiction has the Court of Sessions?
A. Original; no person can be tried in it, who is charged with a crime until he is indicted by a Grand Jury.
Q. Who presides in the County Court?
A. The County Judge.
Q. Who presides in the Court of Sessions?
A. The County Judge and the two Justices of Sessions.
Q. Can both of the Courts be held during the same term?
A. They can; as soon as a cause has been tried in one court the
Judge may change to the other, and should it be the Sessions, the
Justices of Sessions must be on the bench with the Judge; should
it be the County Court, he alone is the court.
Q. What jury decides causes tried either in the Sessions or County
Court?
A. The Petit Jury, consisting of twelve men.
SUPREME COURT.
Q. What is the next higher court?
A. The Supreme Court.
Q. What are its divisions?
A. The Circuit, Oyer and Terminer, Special Term and General Term.
Q. For judicial convenience, the State has been divided into districts, and how many?
A. Into eight judicial districts, numbered from one to eight, inclusive.
Q. What are the officers called in this court?
A. Justices of the Supreme Court.
Q. How many are elected in each district?
A. Five each in the first and second districts, and four each in the other six.
Q. How many Supreme Court Justices in the State?
A. Thirty-four.
Q. For how long a term are these Justices elected?
A. For fourteen years. Salary, $6,000, and an annual allowance for expenses.
Q. What constitutional provision in regard to eligibility?
A. They cannot hold the office longer than the last day of
December next after they shall be seventy years of age.
Q. What are some of their duties?
A. To preside and try causes in the Circuit, Oyer and Terminer, and also hear appeals in the Special Term, and when appointed Judges of the General Term to hear and decide appeals there.
SPECIAL TERM.
Q. What is a Special Term?
A. A court held by one of the Supreme Court Judges in the district simply for hearing and deciding motions and appeals.
GENERAL TERM.
Q. What is a General Term Court; and how many are there in the
State?
A. It is a court for hearing appeals, and consists of a single district, or a union of several districts; and there are four in the State, organized by an act of the Legislature.
Q. What is the territory embraced in the jurisdiction of a General
Term called?
A. It is usually called a Department, and numbered First, Second,
Third and Fourth.
The following table will give a view of Departments, Districts and
Counties in the State:
I. Dep. consists of
I. Dist.
City and Co. of N. York.
II. Dep. consists of
II. Dist.
Richmond,
Kings,
Queens,
Suffolk,
Westchester,
Putnam,
Dutchess,
Orange and Rockland Counties.
III. Dep. consists of
III. Dist.
Columbia,
Rensselaer,
Sullivan,
Ulster,
Albany,
Greene and Schoharie Counties.
IV. Dist.
Warren,
Saratoga,
St. Lawr'nce,
Washington,
Essex,
Franklin,
Clinton,
Montgom'ry,
Hamilton,
Fulton and Schenectady Counties.
VI. Dist.
Otsego,
Delaware,
Madison,
Chenango,
Tompkins,
Broome,
Chemung,
Schuyler,
Tioga and Cortland Counties.
IV. Dep. consists of
V. Dist.
Onondaga,
Jefferson,
Oneida,
Oswego,
Herkimer and Lewis Counties.
VII. Dist.
Livingston,
Ontario,
Wayne,
Yates,
Steuben,
Seneca,
Cayuga and Monroe Counties.
VIII. Dist.
Erie,
Chautauqua,
Cattaraugus,
Orleans,
Niagara,
Genesee,
Allegany and Wyoming Counties.
Q. How many counties in each of the districts?
A. One county in the First, nine in the Second, seven in the Third, eleven in the Fourth, six in the Fifth, ten in the Sixth, eight in the Seventh, eight in the Eighth district.
Q. How many counties in each of the departments?
A. One in the First, nine in the Second, twenty-eight in the
Third, and twenty-two in the Fourth.
Q. How many Justices constitute the General Term Court, or the court held in and for the department?
A. Three in each Department.
Q. Where do these Justices come from?
A. They are appointed by the Governor from the Supreme Court
Justices that have been previously elected by the people.
Q. Must these Justices be taken from their respective departments?
A. Not necessarily; they may be transferred from another department; as for instance, a Justice from Buffalo in the Fourth Department has been transferred to the First Department.
Q. How many Supreme Court Justices are elected in the territory known as the First Department?
A. Five.
Q. How many Supreme Court Justices are elected in the district known as the Second Department?
A. Five.
Q. How many Supreme Court Justices are elected in the districts known as the Third Department?
A. Twelve.
Q. How many Supreme Court Justices are elected in the districts known as the Fourth Department?
A. Twelve.
COURT OF APPEALS.
Q. Of what does the Court of Appeals Consist?
A. Of seven Judges, elected by the electors of the whole State for a term of fourteen years; one of their number is called a Chief Judge, the others are called Associate Judges; they cannot hold the office after they are seventy years old.
Q. What jurisdiction has this court?
A. Appellate.
Q. State how appeals may be taken from one court to another?
A. The party aggrieved may appeal from a Justice Court to a County
Court; from County or Supreme Courts to Special Term; from Special
Term to General Term; from General Term to Court Of Appeals.
Q. What may these Courts do?
A. They may affirm decisions made by lower courts, or reverse decisions, or grant new trials. The salary of the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals is $7,500; of his Associates, $7,000.
ILLUSTRATION.
Q. In what court must a person charged with the crime of murder be tried?
A. In the Oyer and Terminer, or in some court having the same jurisdiction.
Q. What privilege has the prisoner if convicted?
A. He has the right to appeal to the Justice holding a special term, asking for a new trial.
Q. Should this Justice refuse to grant it, what further can he do?
A. Appeal to the General Term.
Q. It the General Term refuse, what then?
A. It can be taken to the Court of Appeals.
Q. If the Court of Appeals refuse to grant a new trial, what then?
A. The decision of the Oyer and Terminer must be carried out unless the Governor interferes.
Q. In case the penalty is death and the day for execution has passed, what then?
A. The prisoner must be re-sentenced by the judge that presided at the trial.
Q. In case either of the Appellate Courts grants a new trial, what is to be done?
A. The cause will be tried in the same court, or, in one having the same jurisdiction, but before a different jury.
Q. How are civil causes managed on appeal?
A. In the same way, only that the court may affirm or reverse decisions as well as grant new trials.