New York Family Court

Family Court of the State of New York

Court overview
Formed	September 1, 1962
Jurisdiction	New York
Court executives	Fern Fisher, deputy chief administrative judge Michael Coccoma, deputy chief administrative judge
Parent department	New York State Unified Court System
Key document	Family Court Act

The Family Court of the State of New York is a specialized court of the New York State Unified Court System located in each county of the state.^[1][2][3] The New York City Family Court is the name given to the state Family Court within New York City.

Jurisdiction

It is a family court 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.^[4] In New York City, it has concurrent jurisdiction with the New York City Criminal Court for family offenses (domestic violence).

The Family Court building in Manhattan

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 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.^[1]

Justice Jane Bolin became the first black female judge in the United States when Mayor Fiorello La Guardia swore her in to the bench of the Family Court, then called the Domestic Relations Court, in 1939. Her 10-year appointment was renewed by the city's mayors three times until she reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Notes

1. Constitution of the State of New York Article VI, § 13
2. Family Court Act § 113
3. New York City Bar Association 2012, pp. 3-5.
4. New York City Bar Association 2012, p. 1.

References

• Introductory Guide to the New York City Family Court (PDF). Committee on Family Law and Family Court of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. February 2012.

External links

• New York City Family Court
• Family Court outside New York City
• Uniform Rules for the Family Court in the NYCRR