Most New Yorkers only notice local judges when there is a very high profile case. Which partially explains why so few voters take part in the only elections where they have a direct say in choosing judges. Over the years, I’ve found that even many people working in politics are poorly informed about the election of Civil Court Judges and the many ways it differs from other elections.
So, here’s a primer on the confusing system.
There are five types of local judges in New York City. Only the Civil Court and Surrogate Court judges are selected directly by voters in Party primaries and then in General Elections. Surrogate judges are so few (just 7 in NYC) and their elections are even more different than others that I’m only going to write about Civil Court here.
There are 120 Civil Court Judges. 53 of these judges are elected Countywide (8 from the Bronx, 17 from Brooklyn, 17 from Manhattan, 9 from Queens and 2 from Staten Island). 67 are elected in districts. The reason for this odd mixture is that the Civil Court was created through a merger of two different courts in 1962. Rather than force judges who were previously elected in a certain jurisdiction to run in a new one, the judges were “grandfathered” in to their districts.
The judicial districts have no relationship to any other political districts and different districts elect a different number of judges. The number of voters in each range from just under 40,000 (part of East Harlem) to over 300,000 (1/2 of the Bronx).The Federal Courts have ruled that none of this violates the one person-one vote doctrine because judges are not representatives of constituents.
As in most other elections in New York City, the Democratic nomination is usually tantamount to victory. Most years, in most districts, there is only a Democratic candidate.
Getting on the ballot is like that for other offices, a candidate collects petition signatures from registered voters in his or her Party during the same period in June and July. The number of signatures required is 1,500 or 5% of the enrolled voters, whichever is less.
Unlike other offices, a candidate for judge does not have to be enrolled in the Party and the only residence requirement is that the candidate be registered to vote in New York City. Many judges have been elected who were not able to vote form themselves and two years ago, a registered Conservative won the Democratic Primary for Civil Court in the Bronx and was elected.
However, there are some special requirements for judicial candidates. All must be lawyers admitted to the bar in NY for 10 years and under the age of 70.
Civil Court judges are elected for 10-year terms but must retire at the end of the year they turn 70. When a judge leaves before the term is up, the new judge is not elected to serve out the remaining years of the term but for a new, full 10-year term.
Judges and judicial candidates are restricted in how they can campaign. Some of the restrictions are the result of laws but most some are rules promulgated by the Office of Court Administration. These rules are serious and judges have been removed from the bench for violating them. There are also guidelines issued by the State & City Bar Associations that most candidates follow as though they are laws, though I can point to many cases where the Bar Associations have ignored violations of these guidelines by candidates who then received their seal of approval.
The restrictions prohibit judicial candidates from direct fundraising and from even knowing who contributed to their campaigns (even though contribution reports are public records). They also do not allow candidates from commenting on controversial issues, from promising to rule a particular way in future cases and from endorsing any other candidates.
These are what really make judicial campaigns different than others.
The fundraising limits mean that most judicial candidates spend their own money or money raised or borrowed from family members. Very few Civil Court candidates, including those running Countywide, ever spend more that $150,000 on a campaign. You might think that’s a lot but think about it. A countywide Civil Court candidate in Brooklyn is competing in the same jurisdiction where Borough President candidates spend over $1 million to run.
The other restrictions force candidates to basically run on their resumes – highlighting experience in the courts, popular cases they may have been involved with and academic credentials. This also means that ethnic, racial & gender considerations and endorsements from officials and newspapers (especially the NY Times in Manhattan) are much more important in judicial Primaries than others.
Two other wrinkles in Civil Court that cause much confusion are the assigned vacancy law and the Manhattan panel system.
The assigned vacancy law came about as a result of a hotly contested Democratic Primary that occurred in either 1978 or 1979 in Brooklyn. That year there were 3 countywide vacancies and 1 incumbent Judge seeking re-election. The reform Democratic clubs banded together and supported 3 candidates opposing 3 chosen by the regular organization. Both Party factions agreed to support the incumbent. However this caused the incumbent to take his re-election for granted and he didn’t campaign or spend much money. All sides were surprised after the Primary to find the unopposed candidate had finished 5th!
To prevent his from happening again in either countywide or district races, Civil Court candidates now run for slots that are assigned a vacancy number. If only one candidate files petitions for a vacancy, that candidate is the unopposed nominee. But if, for example, there are 2 slots to be filled in the same jurisdiction and 2 candidates file for each slot, all candidates compete for the 2 slots – the assigned vacancy is no longer relevant.
In Manhattan, Democratic Party rules require that the County Party may only support candidates who have been rated as qualified by an independent judicial screening panel that has been established by the Party. While this rule only applies to countywide positions, most of the Democratic clubs also use panels to screen candidates for district seats and only support candidates rated as qualified. However, no candidate is prevented from running without panel approval and non-approved candidates in Manhattan has won.
This year, 16 Civil Court Judges are to be elected in NYC. 2 countywide each in Brooklyn & Staten Island, 1 countywide in Manhattan & the Bronx, and district seats in Staten Island, Manhattan & Queens. Probably ¼ to 1/3 of these will result in Democratic Primary campaigns that will be noticed by few outside the family, friends and political supporters of the candidates.