New York Law Journal: Large Law Firms Take A Step Back in Diversity
02.26.10
By Daniel Wise
Justice Rolando T. Acosta (See Profile) this afternoon temporarily stayed Tuesday's ruling by the Appellate Division, First Department, that held unconstitutional the 2004 merger of all criminal cases in the Bronx into a single court. Justice Acosta, of the First Department, stayed enforcement of the 4-1 ruling in People v. Correa, 51080C/05, "in any respect" until the parties submit additional papers to him at noon on March 3. The issue of the continuation of the stay will be addressed at a conference Justice Acosta scheduled at 2:15 p.m. on March 3.
Justice Acosta, who was the dissenter in Correa, stated in his order that he had decided to grant the interim stay after consulting with the four judges who formed the majority in Correa.
Separately this afternoon, Justice Acosta granted the Bronx District Attorney's Office leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals.
According to a cover sheet released with the order, both the Bronx District Attorney's Office and the Office of Court Administration, which submitted an amicus brief in Correa, are asking for a stay until the high court decides the issue.
Acting Supreme Court Justice Efrain Alvarado, the administrative judge for criminal matters in the Bronx (See Profile), said that no matter what the outcome of the stay litigation, the court will retain the changes it has implemented (NYLJ, Feb. 25) to bring the merged court into compliance with Correa until the Court of Appeals rules. Because the majority decision found that elected Supreme Court judge and Court of Claims judges assigned to the merged court lack jurisdiction to issue rulings in misdemeanor cases, he said, "we decided to avoid exposing any further misdemeanor convictions to the uncertainty" that they could be upset because of the judges' lack of jurisdiction.
The interim stay, and any extensions of it would allow problem solving courts, such as the Integrated Domestic Violence Court, where a single judge hears matters that would otherwise be within the jurisdiction of at least one other court, to continue operating without being cast under a legal cloud by Correa..
By Daniel Wise
Justice Rolando T. Acosta (See Profile) this afternoon temporarily stayed Tuesday's ruling by the Appellate Division, First Department, that held unconstitutional the 2004 merger of all criminal cases in the Bronx into a single court. Justice Acosta, of the First Department, stayed enforcement of the 4-1 ruling in People v. Correa, 51080C/05, "in any respect" until the parties submit additional papers to him at noon on March 3. The issue of the continuation of the stay will be addressed at a conference Justice Acosta scheduled at 2:15 p.m. on March 3.
Justice Acosta, who was the dissenter in Correa, stated in his order that he had decided to grant the interim stay after consulting with the four judges who formed the majority in Correa.
Separately this afternoon, Justice Acosta granted the Bronx District Attorney's Office leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals.
According to a cover sheet released with the order, both the Bronx District Attorney's Office and the Office of Court Administration, which submitted an amicus brief in Correa, are asking for a stay until the high court decides the issue.
Acting Supreme Court Justice Efrain Alvarado, the administrative judge for criminal matters in the Bronx (See Profile), said that no matter what the outcome of the stay litigation, the court will retain the changes it has implemented (NYLJ, Feb. 25) to bring the merged court into compliance with Correa until the Court of Appeals rules. Because the majority decision found that elected Supreme Court judge and Court of Claims judges assigned to the merged court lack jurisdiction to issue rulings in misdemeanor cases, he said, "we decided to avoid exposing any further misdemeanor convictions to the uncertainty" that they could be upset because of the judges' lack of jurisdiction.
The interim stay, and any extensions of it would allow problem solving courts, such as the Integrated Domestic Violence Court, where a single judge hears matters that would otherwise be within the jurisdiction of at least one other court, to continue operating without being cast under a legal cloud by Correa..
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