New York State Bar Association Urges Legislators To Refrain From Passing Bill That Changes Judicial Districts
6.12.2025
New York State Bar Association President Kathleen Sweet issued the following statement regarding bills A8883/S8418, which seek to add new judicial districts in New York State:
“The New York State Bar Association fully supports increasing the diversity of the judiciary. Diversity in the courts has been a longstanding policy of the association. Before making statutory changes to judicial districts, however, careful consideration should be given to determining which districts should be impacted, the number of judges allocated to each district, the caseloads in the affected districts, as well as the costs to the state and municipalities. In order to evaluate whether this legislation is the best way to divide the existing districts, whether any other districts should be altered or created, and whether this is the most effective way to increase diversity in our courts, we respectfully urge the Legislature to refrain from acting on this legislation at this time.”
The New York State Bar Association issued a report on increasing diversity in the courts in 2014.
