Bill Text: NY A08285 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Assembly Bill 8285 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Requires town and village justices be admitted to practice law in New York state for at least five years as of the date they commence the duties of office.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - referred to judiciary [A08285 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08285-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8285

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    November 27, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and referred 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 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 unless they are an attorney admitted to  practice  law  in  this
     6  state for at least five years as of the date they commence the duties of
     7  office.   Notwithstanding the foregoing, non-attorney justices in office
     8  as of the effective date of this subdivision shall  remain  eligible  to
     9  serve  as  a  justice  for the court on which they currently sit for the
    10  remainder of their term.
    11    § 2. Section 31 of the town law is amended by adding a new subdivision
    12  2-a to read as follows:
    13    2-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to  the  contrary,  no
    14  person  may serve as a town justice unless they are an attorney admitted
    15  to practice law in this state for at least five years  as  of  the  date
    16  they  commence  the  duties  of office.   Notwithstanding the foregoing,
    17  non-attorney justices in office as of the effective date of this  subdi-
    18  vision  shall  remain  eligible  to  serve as a justice for the court on
    19  which they currently sit for the remainder of their term.
    20    § 3. Section 3-301 of the village law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    21  subdivision 6 to read as follows:
    22    6.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of law to the contrary, no
    23  person may serve as a village justice unless they are an attorney admit-
    24  ted to practice law in this state for at least five years as of the date

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13567-01-3

        A. 8285                             2

     1  they commence the duties of  office.    Notwithstanding  the  foregoing,
     2  non-attorney  justices in office as of the effective date of this subdi-
     3  vision shall remain eligible to serve as a  justice  for  the  court  on
     4  which they currently sit for the remainder of their term.
     5    §  4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
     6  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.