New York chief judge delivers annual address

In the annual State of the Judiciary speech Wednesday, New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFore talked about pandemic-related challenges still facing the court system, the progress made in the past year, and the challenge of eliminating barriers to equal justice and creating a fair, inclusive workplace.

“We continue to navigate our way through this historic pandemic … but, in spite of, or perhaps even because of the challenges presented, we also have experienced growth and positive change,” DiFiore said in the speech delivered virtually on the New York State Court System’s website.

“Our workforce is effectively fully vaccinated. We know how to safely navigate the challenges of the pandemic. And we have developed a powerful and productive new hybrid operating model to help us manage our dockets and deliver justice services as effectively, efficiently and safely as possible,” she said.

In June 2020, Judge DiFiore asked former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to conduct an independent review of the state’s court system’s policies and practices relating to racial equality and justice, she said.

She explained that Johnson issued a report that identified significant issues in need of reform, including the “second-class” treatment of people of color in the state’s high-volume courts, and the need for greater diversity and more inclusion within the judiciary and court system workforce.

“We made it an urgent priority to focus our attention and resources on correcting the harmful policies and institutional practices identified in the report.”

“The effort we have undertaken is a continuous, ongoing process that requires constant improvement and vigilance,” she said.

Reforms implemented so far include mandatory racial bias training for all judges and non-judicial staff; the adoption of a social media policy that clearly delineates the boundaries on what constitutes biased conduct; refinements to the courts’ human resources interview, examination and hiring practices to ensure they reflect the court system’s commitment to diversity and inclusion; and the adoption of initiatives designed to foster trust between court officers and their local communities.

“For so long as I have the privilege of serving as Chief Judge, we will not rest on … empty platitudes … We will work tirelessly … on changing the identified institutional policies, rules and practices that perpetuate inequities in our courts.”

DiFiore called on all three branches of government to work together to streamline the “outdated, fragmented and needlessly complex trial court structure.”

She said the current trial court structure forces vulnerable New Yorkers to pursue their related legal issues before different judges in multiple courts, which she said leads to “more court appearances … more lost workdays, more childcare and transportation expenses, more stress and frustration, and, certainly, less trust and confidence in our courts and the justice system.”

Streamlining the trial court structure will require amending Article VI of the New York State Constitution. DiFiore said the Court System recently submitted a proposal to the Legislature that would amend Article VI “to achieve the vital goals of creating a modern, streamlined and equitably structured court system consisting of a single statewide Supreme Court, a single statewide municipal court and the town and village justice courts located in jurisdictions throughout the state.”

She also said a court simplification bill is being introduced in the Assembly and Senate.

DiFiore further noted that compensation should be increased for attorneys appointed to represent indigent people in criminal cases and in Family Court.

The pay rate for assigned counsel has not increased since 2004, “which has led to a statewide mass exodus from the pool of qualified assigned counsel who are available to take on new assignments.”

“This situation not only impairs court operations but harms countless litigants who are subjected to delays in the assignment of counsel, repeated adjournments … and an overall substandard quality of representation,” she said.

New legislation proposes increasing the hourly rate from $75 per hour to $150 per hour for felonies and family court matters, and from $60 per hour to $120 per hour for misdemeanors.

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