A Closer Look is our weekly segment that highlights a story by a BTPM NPR reporter. This week, Assistant Managing Editor, Ryan Zunner, speaks with reporter Holly Kirkpatrick about new state legislation aimed at making the judges in Western New York’s courts better reflect the communities they serve.
The original story on the legislation can be found here.
Ryan: Hi. I'm Ryan Zunner, and welcome to A Closer Look here on BTPM NPR. I'm joined here now by Holly Kirkpatrick, thanks for joining me.
Holly: Hi Ryan.
Ryan: And this week, you reported that the state legislature approved a major overhaul of some Western New York judicial districts. Now, if you're not part of the legal world, the court system can be super confusing, right? But there are a few different types of courts. So which court system, Holly, is impacted here with this decision?
Holly: Yeah. So the changes were passed by both the State Assembly and Senate last week, and this is new legislation that impacts specifically the New York State Supreme Court's Fourth Department. Now that is a trial court. It hears appeals for both civil and criminal cases for 22 Central and Western New York counties.
Ryan: And so certainly not the initial court you might go to for civil or criminal matters, but certainly in that step ladder of New York courts.
Holly: Yeah.
Ryan: And Buffalo Democratic Assembly Member Jon Rivera, he's the one that sponsored this legislation. Why does he argue that these judicial district lines should be redrawn now?
Holly: So there's a couple of main reasons for him. The first is he argues that, you know what? It's about time. Because he said researchers in his office think that the last time the specific district lines were reviewed in Western New York was more than 100 years ago. And he says, you know, a lot has changed since then: demographic, population changes. And that leads to reason number two, which is that he hopes that these changes will achieve a judicial system in Western New York that is more representative of those changes, and therefore, more equitable.
Ryan: Equitable is a term you hear a lot is a major talking point when you talk about the criminal justice system. How exactly does does this aim to make that system more equitable?
Holly: Yeah, so this is where we really get into things. So as things stand with the current judicial district lines in the region, all eight Western New York counties are bunched into one district. Now, that includes Erie County, which has a higher population than the other counties. So Rivera says that this makes it harder for a potential candidate for judge from one of those other less populous counties to ascend to the bench in an election, because, you know, they're competing with lots of other potential candidates for judge who are mainly, he says, from Erie County. And here's how he explains that a little bit further.
Rivera [soundbite]: "If I'm a an individual looking to run for judge in, let's say, Allegany County, I have a real uphill climb, because I'm countering against candidates and operations that are part of the much bigger judicial district."
Ryan: And so talk a little bit about how those district lines are going to be redrawn, and what's been some of the reaction to it.
Holly: Basically, it's pretty simple. Erie County will be in a separate district from the others. Those other seven will be in a new district together. The reaction: David Wolff, he's a practicing lawyer in the Buffalo area. He's also President of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association for the western region. He supports the legislation. He agrees with Rivera. He says it will lead to better judges, because they'll have a better understanding of the community that they're working in. Here's what else he said.
Wolff [soundbite]: "I think the Constitution of the United States wants us to have a representative of our community that decides the case. That's why we have the jury system in general. That's why we have the judges system that we do currently with breaking it down into districts."
Ryan: Now we have about 30 seconds left here. Holly, we heard from Wolff. But are all legal minds, are they enthusiastic as him on this?
Holly: No, not really. So Kathleen Sweet, she's the President of the New York State Bar Association. She greeted these changes with caution. In a statement released the day it was passed, she urged state lawmakers to "refrain from acting on this legislation at this time," because, basically, she wanted a better evaluation of the changes.
Ryan: That's BTPM NPR's Holly Kirkpatrick, Holly, thank you so much.
Holly: Thank you.
