Advocates Push for More Family Court Judges
WNYC News | Jul 12, 2010
New York, NY —
Advocates and elected officials are continuing to push for more family court judges. Currently, 47 serve the entire city. The State Legislature would have to act in order to increase that number.
City Councilman Bill De Blasio was in Albany yesterday lobbying for more judges and says lawmakers understand there's a crisis statewide. Family court judges have seen their caseloads increase dramatically because of a surge in abuse and neglect complaints following the high profile death of 7 year old Nixzmary Brown.
The push for more judges gained momentum last month when Chief Judge Judith Kaye called for a statewide increase of 39. De Blasio says he hopes most of those potential appointments would be for New York City.
