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the reference to the Appellate Division is not entirely accurate. unless there is a conflict between or among the four departments, the decision of one department is binding on all lower courts of New York State. Streamless 20:04, 30 September 2005 (UTC) reply

If this is the case, then the Appellate Division entry is wrong where it says, assuming no prior conflict among departments, a Department is not bound by another Department's decisions, and they are merely "pursuasive." Who's going to fix it. I'm not licensed in NY?????-- Quantico781 06:12, 2 September 2006 (UTC) reply

I am licensed in NY and served for 6 years as law clerk for an Appellate Division justice. I know of whence I speak (but have NO experience on Wikipedia!). It is true that the holding of any of the four appellate division departments is binding on all lower courts, unless there is a contrary holding from the department in which the lower court is located. So if only the first department has ruled on the issue, its holding is binding on all lower courts in the state. If the first and second department have made opposite rulings, then the second department's ruling is binding in that department, the first department's ruling is binding on courts in that department, and the lower courts in the third and fourth departments may follow either (until their departments, or the court of appeals, have ruled). Someone who knows about WikiPedia should fix this. Also, I know there are legal cases or other sources out there that can be cited for this, but I don't have time to find them. Someone please correct me if I have done anything improper in posting this, I am having trouble figuring out what's allowed here and what's not. Sweetbeet 19:06, 14 March 2007 (UTC) reply

Edited the second paragraph to reflect the above changes suggested by the NY-licensed attorney. -JBlinder 17 May 2007