District Court would give more power to state, diminish local voice

Editor:

Truth or consequences?

Orleans County voters – you have an important issue to address. Your County Legislators have put forth the proposition that your right to have local courts, the courts closest to the people, and your vote for locally elected public officers, should be taken away and ceded to New York State.

The path to the hearing on this proposed local law on May 7th has been paved with misinformation and half-truths. As the saying goes, if we fail to understand the truth, we are destined to suffer the consequences.

By Resolution 137-323 of the Orleans County Legislature, an 11-member “District Court Committee” was established. Its directive: to “study the potential implementation of a district court system in Orleans County…. and to provide a recommendation to the County Legislature regarding the merits of the establishment of a district court system.”

The report of the committee starts with the conclusion that a district court is the best option for Orleans County. It then provides anecdotal statements from the New York State Bar Association in an attempt to support that conclusion. Almost half of the committee, 5 of the 11 members, have either dissented from the recommendation or abstained from making any recommendation whatsoever. Hardly a ringing endorsement of the current plan.

Where are the facts to support making such a drastic change? Why can’t they provide definitive financial information? Where is the necessary support from the State Legislature for funding?

The crux of the committee’s report suggests substantial cost savings by substituting individual town courts for a single district court. At the same time, they admit that a vote to establish a district court does not terminate existing Town Courts (New York State Constitution (Article VI, Section 17). Towns would still need to fund local courts. So where is the promised cost savings?

The report includes a statement almost too cynical to be believed: “…. townships can minimize the cost of the justice court by substantially reducing the court’s budget, salaries and personnel and other resources to render the justice court ineffective and essentially exist in name only.” It is unconscionable that a Legislative body would accept a plan to “render the justice court ineffective.” Does this sound like a committee seeking to “improve safety, fairness, access to justice and efficiency in the administration of criminal justice”?

Our founders established three separate yet equal branches of government in the Constitution – Legislative, Executive and Judicial. Each branch is to have separate and independent powers, so that no one branch is more powerful than another.

It should not be the goal of a County Legislature to run roughshod over the Judicial branch to “render justice courts ineffective.” No one branch should have that power over another.  That is autocracy not democracy.

Please do not let the County Legislature take away your access to local courts and your right to vote for community representation. Your decision has consequences.

Hon. Sherry R. Davenport

Past President of the New York State Magistrates Association

Cortland