| "Appellate Division,
Fourth Department, 100th Anniversary " | |
|
PREFACE
For 100 years, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, has served the citizens of western and central upstate New York as the intermediate appellate court for the Fifth, Seventh and Eighth Judicial Districts. The history of the Court during that period has included many changes: its Justices have increased in number from 5 to 11; its yearly caseload has more than quadrupled, growing from 496 to over 2,000; the number of its Clerk's Office employees has increased from 4 to over 40; the Court and its staff have outgrown two facilities and are preparing to move to a third location; and the Court currently is considering major changes in its rules of practice in order to cope with the ever-increasing caseload. One factor, however, has remained constant during the past century. Each of the benches that has sat as the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, has been committed to the principle of providing justice to the litigants appearing before it. In that spirit, we dedicate this centennial publication to the Justices and staff who have sewed this Court so well during its first 100 years. THE FIRST BENCH The Constitution of 1894 replaced the five existing General Terms with four Appellate Divisions. The jurisdiction of the Fourth Department was drawn to include the Fifth Judicial District, comprised of the counties surrounding the Cities of Syracuse, Utica and Watertown; the Seventh Judicial District, comprised of the counties surrounding Rochester; and the Eighth Judicial District, comprised of the counties surrounding Buffalo. The Cities of Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo all competed for |
 The Day Calendar for January 21, 1896 prepared by
Newell C. Fulton, the first clerk of the court
the new appellate court. The Rochester Union and Advertiser reported that the Rochester Chamber of Commerce planned to send a delegation to Albany in March 1895 to the Assembly's Judiciary Committee, to urge that committee to select Rochester as the site of the Appellate Division. Additionally, the Monroe County Bar Association received letters from prominent attorneys in several |
 The Appellate Division sitting in Syracuse during the October 1995 Term
| |
 The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York | |
