Court overview | |
---|---|
Formed | September 1, 1962 |
Jurisdiction | New York |
Court executive |
|
Parent department | State Unified Court System |
Key document |
The Family Court of the State of New York is a specialized court of the New York State Unified Court System located in each county of the state. [2] [3] [4] The New York City Family Court is the name given to the state Family Court within New York City.
It is a family court that hears cases involving children and families and handles issues such as child abuse and neglect, adoption, child custody and visitation, domestic violence, guardianship, juvenile delinquency, paternity, persons in need of supervision (PINS), child support, and termination of parental rights. [5] [6] In New York City, it has concurrent jurisdiction with the New York City Criminal Court for family offenses (domestic violence).[ citation needed ]
Family Court does not have jurisdiction over divorces, which must be litigated in the Supreme Court (which is a trial court, rather than the highest court which would be the New York Court of Appeals) and although Criminal Court domestic violence parts typically hear all cases involving crimes against intimate partners (whether opposite- or same-sex), New York law defines family offenses to include only those related by blood, actual marriage (common law marriage is not recognized in New York), or a child in common.[ citation needed ]
In the New York City Family Court (the "Family Court of the State of New York within the City of New York"), judges are appointed by the Mayor to ten-year terms; elsewhere they are elected to ten-year terms. [2] There are 47 judges in the New York City Family Court. [7]
In 1939, Justice Jane Bolin became the first black female judge in the United States when Mayor Fiorello La Guardia swore her in to the bench of the Family Court, then called the Domestic Relations Court.[ citation needed ] Her 10-year appointment was renewed by the city's mayors three times until she reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.[ citation needed ]
Part of a series on |
New York State Unified Court System |
---|
|
Specialized |
The NYC Domestic Relations part (commonly known as the Family Court) of the Magistrates' Court system created in 1910 had dealt with those chargeable with the support of wives, children and "poor relatives" under its criminal jurisdiction over "disorderly persons". [8] [9] The children's court part of the NYC Court of Special Sessions was created in 1915, from a 1902 children's court division of the New York County Court of General Sessions. [10] Children's courts were authorized throughout the state by constitutional referendum in 1921 followed by statutes in 1922 and 1924. [11] [12] [13] [14] By 1933, jurisdiction was divided among the children's court, the magistrates' courts which dealt with deserting and nonsupporting husbands as "disorderly", the court of special sessions with jurisdiction in illegitimacy cases, the surrogate's court with jurisdiction in adoption cases, and the supreme court with divorce jurisdiction. [15] The NYC Children's Court and NYC Domestic Relations Court (commonly known as the Family Court) were consolidated into the Domestic Relations Court of the City of New York created on October 1, 1933. [16] [17] [14] In 1962 the Family Court replaced these courts after a 1961 constitutional amendment. [1] [18]
A domestic partnership is a relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married. People in domestic partnerships receive legal benefits that guarantee right of survivorship, hospital visitation, and other rights.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York is the intermediate appellate court in New York State. The state is geographically divided into four judicial departments of the Appellate Division. The full title of each is, for example, the "Fourth Department" is "Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department").
The New York City Transit Authority is a public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. Part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the busiest and largest transit system in North America, the NYCTA has a daily ridership of 8 million trips.
The Sullivan Act was a gun control law in New York state that took effect in 1911. The NY state law requires licenses for New Yorkers to possess firearms small enough to be concealed. Private possession of such firearms without a license was a misdemeanor, and carrying them in public is a felony. The law was the subject of controversy regarding both its selective enforcement and the licensing bribery schemes it enabled. The act was named for its primary legislative sponsor, state senator Timothy Sullivan, a Tammany Hall Democrat.
Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintiff came into court with "clean hands" and the request was reasonable, "quantum meruit". Changes in laws and rules have made this distinction superfluous.
The New York State Tenement House Act of 1901 banned the construction of dark, poorly ventilated tenement buildings in the U.S. state of New York. Among other sanctions, the law required that new buildings must be built with outward-facing windows in every room, an open courtyard, proper ventilation systems, indoor toilets, and fire safeguards. One of the reforms of the Progressive Era, it was one of the first laws of its kind in the U.S.
The Criminal Court of the City of New York is a court of the State Unified Court System in New York City that handles misdemeanors and lesser offenses, and also conducts arraignments and preliminary hearings in felony cases.
The Civil Court of the City of New York is a civil court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $25,000 and includes a small claims part for cases involving amounts up to $10,000 as well as a housing part for landlord-tenant matters, and also handles other civil matters referred by the New York Supreme Court. The court has divisions by county (borough), but it is a single citywide court.
The New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA) is a New York State public-benefit corporation created in 1960 to build and preserve affordable multifamily rental housing throughout New York State. HFA sells bonds and uses the proceeds to make mortgages to affordable housing developers.
The State of New York Mortgage Agency is a New York State public-benefit corporation created in 1970 by the state government of New York to provide affordable homeownership to low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. It offers affordably priced fixed-rate mortgages through several mortgage programs for eligible homebuyers. Each program offers competitive interest rates, low down payments, down payment assistance and no prepayment penalties. SONYMA offers its programs through a network of participating lenders throughout New York state who contract with the agency to offer SONYMA's programs to their customers. The mortgage loans are purchased from the lenders by SONYMA, which funds the purchases by issuing tax-exempt bonds. In 2017, it had operating expenses of $62.57 million, an outstanding debt of $2.533 billion, and a staff level of 275 people.
Rent regulation in New York is a means of limiting the amount of rent charged on dwellings. Rent control and rent stabilization are two programs used in parts of New York state. In addition to controlling rent, the system also prescribes rights and obligations for tenants and landlords.
The New York State Department of Labor is the department of the New York state government that enforces labor law and administers unemployment benefits.
The Judiciary of New York is the judicial branch of the Government of New York, comprising all the courts of the State of New York.
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is an agency of the New York state government within the Department of Family Assistance. The office has its headquarters in the Capital View Office Park in Rensselaer.
The Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage in the states and most territories did not legalize same-sex marriage on Indian reservations. In the United States, Congress has legal authority over tribal reservations. Thus, unless Congress passes a law regarding same-sex marriage that is applicable to tribal governments, federally recognized American Indian tribes have the legal right to form their own marriage laws. As such, the individual laws of the various United States federally recognized Native American tribes may set limits on same-sex marriage under their jurisdictions. At least ten reservations specifically prohibit same-sex marriage and do not recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions; these reservations, alongside American Samoa, remain the only parts of the United States to enforce explicit bans on same-sex couples marrying.
The Judicial Conference of the State of New York is an institution of the New York State Unified Court System responsible for surveying current practice in the administration of the state's courts, compiling statistics, and suggesting legislation and regulations. Its members include the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals and judges from the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division.
The New York State Department of Family Assistance (DFA), also known as the Department of Family Services, is a department of the New York state government. Its regulations are compiled in title 18 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
The Department of Mental Hygiene (DMH) is a component of the New York state government composed of three autonomous offices:
The New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) is chapter 8 of the Consolidated Laws of New York and governs legal procedure in the Unified Court System such as jurisdiction, venue, and pleadings, as well certain areas of substantive law such as the statute of limitations and joint and several liability. The CPLR has approximately 700 individual sections and rules which are divided into 70 articles. A committee of the New York State Bar Association, the Committee on Civil Practice Law and Rules, monitors the law and periodically proposes amendments.
The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) is an agency of the New York state government responsible for administering housing and community development programs to promote affordable housing, community revitalization, and economic growth. Its primary functions include supervising rent regulations through the State Office of Rent Administration (ORA), administering affordable housing programs, providing financial assistance for housing development and rehabilitation, supporting community development initiatives, ensuring compliance with fair housing laws, and managing the Weatherization Assistance Program.