This episode is from the WNYC archives. It may contain language which is no longer politically or socially appropriate.

The presiding Justice of the Appellate division, first department, speaks on the consolidation of the courts. What is Right: the judges of this city are doing a find job performing their duties. What is Wrong: we have a court structure which prevents other judges from fully utilizing their time and talents, resulting in unbalance, so that some courts do not have work, while others have too much. In the Supreme Court, it takes so long to get a case to trial, that the delay is an effective denial of justice. Consequences of delayed trial include removal of breadwinners from households and the inability to work.

A court system which assures prompt service could be achieved by reorganizing the courts so that the available judicial manpower can be fully utilized. We have too many courts separated in to narrow compartments. 274 judges in the city, and they are enough, if fully employed. They are "hitched to posts." Too few judges in the Supreme Court; it is bogged down beyond the capacity of the judges in that court. Judges from other courts can not be brought in, nor can cases be moved to other courts.

The tendency to bring cases to the higher courts is such that the Municipal court no longer has the volume of business which it is equipped to handle.

The solution is to break down the barriers separating the courts and to simplify the structure so that judges may be assigned where needed. To make this happen, the Williamson-Brook bill should be approved.

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection

WNYC archives id: 69423
Municipal archives id: LT478