Profiles
Judges of the Civil Court are elected and serve terms of 10 years. There are 120 Civil Court Judges, of which approximately 50 sit in the Civil Court. The rest of the judges elected to the Civil Court sit in various other courts, including Criminal Court and Family Court. Many judges sit as Acting Supreme Court Justices. A judge elected in one county may also be assigned to sit in another county.
Assignments
Civil Court judges are assigned to sit in the Small Claims Part of the Civil Court. One judge is assigned as the up-front judge to take any applications on the call of the calendar and to preside over trials. There is sometimes a judge assigned to sit as a back-up judge to hear trials, as well. In general, the judges hear these cases Monday through Thursday nights and during the day on Thursdays in Manhattan and on various days in the other counties. The Manhattan judges are also assigned to sit on Thursday nights in the Harlem Small Claims Night Court throughout the year.
Find a judge's current assignment by county: