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I was wondering if any of the editors here know when Court of Appeals judgments become final. Specifically, does Lt. Gov. Ravich become entitled to preside over the Senate immediately, or only after 30 days when the time to file for rehearing is past? - Rrius ( talk) 21:07, 22 September 2009 (UTC) reply

Why did Judges of the Court of Appeal stop being elected in 1974? Was the State Constitution amended? 213.205.240.185 ( talk) 23:29, 26 February 2021 (UTC) reply

Does anyone know how the name "Supreme Court" came to mean trial court and "Appeals Court" came to mean highest court in New York. I'd be very interested in the history. Quodfui ( talk) 11:13, 5 March 2015 (UTC) reply

I think it's explained, at least partially, in the article here and at New York Supreme Court. After independence, the firts state constitution provided for a "Supreme Court" with statewide jurisdiction in which decisions from the local courts (city courts, county courts, then known as "courts of common pleas") were appealed. It consisted of 3, later 4, and then 5 judges. However, it was never the highest judicial body in New York. Decisions of this "old" Supreme Court could be appealed to the Chancellor, who was in the beginning the sole judge sitting in the New York Court of Chancery, later some vice-chancellors were added to get the caseload done. Decisions by the Chancellor could then be appealed to the Court of Errors which consisted of the Supreme Court justices, the Chancellor, and the whole State Senate (although many of the seantors were not lawyers). The Constitution of 1822 created 8 judicial districts, and New York circuit courts, one per district. These had jurisdiction to begin trials as well as hear appeals, and were placed between the local courts and the Supreme Court, which still had statewide appeal jurisdiction. The Constitution of 1846 completely re-organized the court system: the Court of Errors, the Chancellor and vice-chancellors, and the old Supreme Court were abolished, and replaced with a "Court of Appeals". At the same time, the "circuit courts" (which had a single judge each) were increased to multiple-judge benches and renamed "Supreme Court". This system maintained that the Supreme Court never was the highest court in New York, but it remains unclear why the name Supreme Court was chosen for the district benches. A possible explanation is that they would not be confused with the US district courts and the US courts of appeal for the Xth circuit. Kraxler ( talk) 12:53, 5 March 2015 (UTC) reply

Like the US Supreme Court, but unlike the NY Court of Appeals, its a trial court with original jurisdiction, is also an appellate court for inferior courts, and although it's not the only NY superior court (e.g., the County Court) that heard such appeals its appellate jurisdiction was probably supreme vis-a-vis other superior courts, and unlike the other superior courts probably always had a hand in the administration of the courts as it does now. But this would be alot easier to research if the Laws of New York were practically accessible. Int21h ( talk) 02:45, 6 March 2015 (UTC) Int21h ( talk) 03:08, 6 March 2015 (UTC) reply

As mentioned in the entry, the name is derived from the New York colonial court named "The Supreme Court of Judicature." That court was not a "court of last resort" as we would understand that term in the current U.S. system, but was the highest court of New York in the sense that it heard appeals from county courts, justices of the peace, and the like. Appeals could be taken from its judgments only to bodies that we would not these days necessarily consider to be judicial bodies. Specifically, appeals from the Supreme Court of Judicature went to the Royal Governor and his counsel. Appeals could be taken from that group to the Privy Council in London. Not all judgments of the Supreme Court of Judicature could be appealed, however, and it was effectively the court (or body) of last resort for cases that did not reach certain monetary thresholds.

As for why the court kept its name through the several reorganizations of the New York court system under statehood, I personally suspect that it is just an accident of history. The 1777 constitution essentially swapped the appeal to the Royal Governor and Privy Council with an appeal to the Court of Errors, which was composed partly judges of the Supreme Court, but also partly of elected officials like the Lieutenant Governor and state senators. My thinking is that because the Supreme Court played essentially the same role in this system as it did in the colonial system, the name was continued to avoid confusion. For a more detailed history of the NY Supreme Court, you might want to look at "Duely & Constantly Kept" ^[1], a publication put out by the New York courts on the 300th anniversary of the Supreme Court, which is a wonderful resource. Sneekypat ( talk) 11:28, 10 March 2015 (UTC) reply

Concur with all of the above. Also keep in mind that the United Kingdom historically had a really messed up view of separation of powers and that was one of the issues behind the American Revolution. It wasn't until the enactment of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 that the UK finally created a clear and clean division between the judiciary and the legislature, by getting the House of Lords out of the judge business. -- Coolcaesar ( talk) 14:20, 10 March 2015 (UTC) reply

And it wasn't until the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 that the UK finally created a clear and clean division between the executive branch and the judicial branch ("the judiciary"). Unlike the United States, including New York, which have executive branch courts presided over by so-called " administrative law judges"--which are obviously thinly disguised administrative courts. Int21h ( talk) 01:45, 11 March 2015 (UTC) Int21h ( talk) 01:50, 11 March 2015 (UTC) reply