The Family Court of the State of New York is a specialized court of the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

State Unified Court System located in each county of the state.

Constitution of the State of New York The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constitut ...

Article VI, § 13 The New York City Family Court is the name given to the state Family Court within

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Jurisdiction

It is a

family court 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/plaintif ...

that hears cases involving children and families and handles issues such as child abuse and neglect (child protection), adoption, child custody and visitation, domestic violence, guardianship, juvenile delinquency, paternity, persons in need of supervision (PINS), and child support. In New York City, it has

concurrent jurisdiction Concurrent jurisdiction exists where two or more courts from different systems simultaneously have jurisdiction over a specific case. This situation leads to forum shopping, as parties will try to have their civil or criminal case heard in the c ...

with the

New York City Criminal Court The Criminal Court of the City of New York is a court of the Judiciary of New York (state), State Unified Court System in New York City that handles misdemeanors (generally, criminal law, crimes punishable by fine or imprisonment of up to one yea ...

for family offenses (domestic violence). Family Court does not have jurisdiction over divorces, which must be litigated in the Supreme Court, 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 Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, marriage, informal marriage, or marriage by habit and repute, is a legal framework where a couple may be considered married without having formally registered their relation as a civil ...

is not recognized in New York), or a child in common.

Judges

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. There are 47 judges in the New York City Family Court. In 1939, Justice

Jane Bolin Jane Matilda Bolin (April 11, 1908 – January 8, 2007) was an American attorney and judge. She was the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School, the first to join the New York City Bar Association and the first to join the New York Ci ...

became the first black female judge in the United States when Mayor

Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...

swore her in to the bench of the Family Court, then called the Domestic Relations Court. Her 10-year appointment was renewed by the city's mayors three times until she reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.

History

The children's court part of the

New York City court of special sessions New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

was created in 1915, from a 1902 children's court division of the

New York County court of general sessions A court of general sessions was a type of court originally established as a colonial court of quarter sessions in the British North American colonies. Some of these courts continued in some form after Canada and the United States became independen ...

. Children's courts were authorized throughout the state by constitutional referendum in 1921 followed by statute in 1922. The Children's Court of the City of New York was a state court that opened on September 15, 1924 and was consolidated into the Domestic Relations Court of the City of New York created on October 1, 1933. Chapter 482, enacted 26 April 1933, effective 1 October 1933. In 1962 the Family Court replaced these courts after a 1961 constitutional amendment. Chapter 686, enacted 24 April 1962, effective 1 September 1962.

Notes

References

* {{refend

External links

Legal Referral Service
(a

lawyer referral service A lawyer referral service maintains a network of lawyers, and connects people in need of lawyers with its participating attorneys. A potential client who contacts a lawyer referral service is directed to a lawyer who practices in the area of law t ...

) from the

New York City Bar Association The New York City Bar Association (City Bar), founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization, formally known as the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, has been headquartered in a ...

Lawyer Referral and Information Service
(a

) from the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

New York City Family Court

Family Court outside New York City

Uniform Rules for the Family Court
in the NYCRR New York (state) state courts

1962 establishments in New York City Courts and tribunals established in 1962