Support for a Unified Court System | 2023 NYS Legislative Agenda
The City Bar has long supported proposals to simplify the state’s major trial courts, in the firm belief that a truly unified court system will be more efficient and will result in justice that is more equitable, swifter and less expensive than that which is dispensed via the current patchwork of courts. We see restructuring as an essential reform for the benefit of both the court system and the public. It will eliminate confusion and waste and create a much more nimble, efficient and user-friendly system. Immediately prior to the start of the COVID pandemic, former City Bar President Roger Juan Maldonado delivered testimony in support of restructuring before the New York State Senate and Assembly Judiciary Committees that focused primarily on two issues: how court restructuring would benefit, in particular, low-income litigants in New York City Housing Court and how lawyers, judges, court administrators and bar associations need to work together in order to enhance the diversity pipeline into the profession (and, by extension, onto the bench).
