New York Law
Family Court Laws
Consolidated Laws of New York
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Part 1 - Article 2 - Family Court
ADMINISTRATION
Section |
Description |
211 |
Administration and operation of family court. |
212 |
Rules of court. |
213 |
Reports to administrative board, legislature and governor. |
214 |
Chief administrator to prescribe forms; electronic filing in family court. |
215 |
Continuance in office of non-judicial personnel. |
216-A |
Clerk of court. |
216-B |
Petition forms. |
216-C |
Preparation of petitions. |
217 |
Orders; filing and service. |
S 211. Administration and operation of family court. The
administration and operation of the family court shall be in accord with
article seven-a of the judiciary law.
S 212. Rules of court. (a) The administrative board of the judicial
conference shall prepare rules of court when required by this act and
may prepare rules of court when authorized by this act. To the extent
practicable, any rule of court prepared under this act shall apply
uniformly throughout the state of New York.
(b) In exercising its responsibilities under paragraph (a), the
administrative board may designate a committee of judges of the family
court and of such consultants as it deems appropriate to draft rules for
approval by the administrative board.
S 213. Reports to administrative board, legislature and governor. (a)
In addition to any reports required by the administrative board of the
judicial conference under article seven-a of the judiciary law, the
administrative board shall, as soon as practicable, require the family
court in each county to include in its reports to the administrative
board and the administrative board shall include in its annual report to
the legislature information, by county, showing:
(i) the number of children temporarily removed under section one
thousand twenty-two before the filing of a petition, the number of
children temporarily removed without court order under section ten
hundred twenty-four of this act, and the period of time between such
removal and the filing of a petition;
(ii) the number of children temporarily removed under section one
thousand twenty-seven after the filing of a petition and the period of
time that passed after such removal until its termination;
(iii) the number of placements under section one thousand fifty-two by
person, agency or institution in which the placement is made, and the
number of orders extending the period of placement;
(iv) the number of children released and the number detained under
sections seven hundred twenty-eight and 307.4;
(v) the number of alleged juvenile delinquents released and the number
detained under section 320.5 and the number of alleged persons in need
of supervision released and detained under section seven hundred
thirty-nine, and the duration of the detention in both groups;
(vi) the number of adjudicated juvenile delinquents placed under
section 353.3 and the number of adjudicated persons in need of
supervision placed under section seven hundred fifty-six by person,
agency or institution in which the placement is made, and the number of
orders extending the period of placement;
(vii) the number of adjudicated juvenile delinquents put on probation
under section 353.2 and the number of adjudicated persons in need of
supervision put on probation under section seven hundred fifty-seven and
the duration of such probation;
(viii) the number, nature and disposition of cases involving child
abuse under article ten of this act, including total number of new
cases, their nature, whether heard by the child abuse part, the age and
sex of the children involved, the type of petitioner, the number of
children temporarily removed both before and after the filing of a
petition, the length of time and number of adjournments between the
filing of a petition and the fact-finding hearing, the number of cases
that are dismissed, withdrawn, sustained and admitted to, the length of
time and number of adjournments between the fact-finding hearing and the
dispositional hearing, and the final disposition of such cases.
(b) Rules of court shall as soon as practicable implement this section
by prescribing appropriate forms for reports and may require such
additional information as may be appropriate. The administrative board
of the judicial conference may request the state department of
corrections and community supervision and the state department of social
welfare to assist it in the preparation and processing of reports under
this section, and those departments, when so requested, shall render
such assistance as is possible.
* S 214. Chief administrator to prescribe forms; electronic filing in
family court. (a) The chief administrator of the courts shall promulgate
a uniform, statewide petition for adoption and may prescribe such other
forms as may be proper for the efficient and just administration of this
act, including forms for petitions, summons, warrants, subpoenas,
undertakings, and orders authorized by this act.
(b) (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the chief
administrator, with the approval of the administrative board of the
courts, may promulgate rules authorizing a program in the use of
electronic means ("e-filing") in the family court for: (1) the
origination of proceedings in such court, and (2) the filing and service
of papers in pending proceedings.
(ii) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, participation
in this program shall be strictly voluntary and will take place only
upon consent of all parties in the proceeding; except that failure of a
party or other person who is entitled to notice of the proceedings to
consent to participation shall not bar any other party from filing and
serving papers by electronic means upon the court or any other party or
person entitled to receive notice of such proceeding who has consented
to participation. Filing a petition with the court by electronic means
for the purpose of originating a proceeding shall not require the
consent of any other party; provided, however, that upon such filing, a
party to such proceeding and any attorney for such person shall be
permitted to immediately review and obtain copies of such documents and
papers if such person or attorney would have been authorized by law to
review or obtain copies of such documents and papers if they had been
filed with the court in paper form.
No party shall be compelled, directly or indirectly, to participate in
e-filing. All parties shall be notified clearly, in plain language,
about their options to participate in e-filing. Where a party is not
represented by counsel, the clerk shall explain such party's options for
electronic filing in plain language, including the option for expedited
processing, and shall inquire whether he or she wishes to participate,
provided however the unrepresented litigant may participate in the
program only upon his or her request, which shall be documented in the
case file, after said party has been presented with sufficient
information in plain language concerning the program.
(2) In the rules promulgated pursuant to paragraph (i) of this
subdivision, the chief administrator may eliminate the requirement of
consent to participation in this program in family courts of not more
than six counties for:
(A) the filing with the court of a petition originating a juvenile
delinquency proceeding under article three of this act by a presentment
agency as defined in section 301.2 of such act;
(B) the filing with the court of a petition originating in a
proceeding to determine abuse or neglect pursuant to article ten of this
act by a child protective agency, as defined in section one thousand
twelve of such act; and
(C) the filing and service of papers in proceedings specified in
clauses (A) and (B) of this subparagraph where, pursuant to such
clauses, such proceedings were originated in the court by electronic
filing.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the chief administrator shall not
eliminate the requirement of consent to participation without the
consent of each authorized presentment agency, child protective agency
of an affected county, the family court bar providing representation to
parents, and the family court bar providing representation to children
(as represented by the head of each legal services organization
representing parents and/or children, the head of each public defender
organization, and president of the local bar association as applicable)
in any county in which such elimination shall apply.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the chief administrator may not
eliminate the requirement of consent to participation in a county
hereunder until he or she shall have provided all persons or
organizations, or their representative or representatives, who regularly
appear in proceedings in the family court of such county, in which
proceedings the requirement of consent is to be eliminated, with
reasonable notice and an opportunity to submit comments with respect
thereto and shall have given due consideration to all such comments, nor
until he or she shall have consulted with the members of the advisory
committee continued pursuant to subparagraph (vi) of paragraph (t) of
subdivision two of section two hundred twelve of the judiciary law.
(c) Where the chief administrator eliminates the requirement of
consent as provided in subparagraph two of paragraph (ii) of subdivision
(b) of this section, he or she shall afford counsel the opportunity to
opt out of the program, via presentation of a prescribed form to be
filed with the clerk of the court where the proceeding is pending. Said
form shall permit an attorney to opt out of participation in the program
under any of the following circumstances, in which event, he or she will
not be compelled to participate:
(i) Where the attorney certifies in good faith that he or she lacks
the computer hardware and/or connection to the internet and/or scanner
or other device by which documents may be converted to an electronic
format; or
(ii) Where the attorney certifies in good faith that he or she lacks
the requisite knowledge in the operation of such computers and/or
scanners necessary to participate. For the purposes of this paragraph,
the knowledge of any employee of an attorney, or any employee of the
attorney's law firm, office or business who is subject to such
attorney's direction, shall be imputed to the attorney.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this paragraph: (A) where
a party or a person entitled to notice of the proceedings is not
represented by counsel, the court shall explain such party's options for
electronic filing in plain language, including the option for expedited
processing, and shall inquire whether he or she wishes to participate,
provided however, the unrepresented litigant may participate in the
program only upon his or her request, which shall be documented in the
case file, after said party has been presented with sufficient
information in plain language concerning the program; (B) a party who is
not represented by counsel who has chosen to participate in the program
shall be afforded the opportunity to opt out of the program for any
reason via presentation of a prescribed form to be filed with the clerk
of the court where the proceeding is pending; and (C) a court may exempt
any attorney from being required to participate in the program upon
application for such exemption, showing good cause therefor.
(d) For purposes of this section, "electronic means" shall be as
defined in subdivision (f) of rule twenty-one hundred three of the civil
practice law and rules.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, no paper or
document that is filed by electronic means in a proceeding in family
court shall be available for public inspection on-line. Subject to the
provisions of existing laws governing the sealing and confidentiality of
court records, nothing herein shall prevent the unified court system
from sharing statistical information that does not include any papers or
documents filed with the action.
(f) Nothing in this section shall affect or change any existing laws
governing the sealing and confidentiality of court records in family
court proceedings or access to court records by the parties to such
proceedings, nor shall this section be construed to compel a party to
file a sealed document by electronic means.
(g) Nothing in this section shall affect or change existing laws
governing service of process, nor shall this section be construed to
abrogate existing personal service requirements as set forth in this act
and the civil practice law and rules.
* NB Effective until September 1, 2019
* S 214. State administrator to prescribe forms. The state
administrator shall promulgate a uniform, statewide petition for
adoption and may prescribe such other forms as may be proper for the
efficient and just administration of this act, including forms for
petitions, summons, warrants, subpoenas, undertakings, and orders
authorized by this act.
* NB Effective September 1, 2019
S 215. Continuance in office of non-judicial personnel. (a) Officers
and employees of the domestic relations court of the city of New York
shall, to the extent practicable, be transferred to the family court in
counties within the city of New York in accord with article seven-a of
the judiciary law. To the extent practicable, those assigned to a
division of the domestic relations court located in a particular county
shall be assigned to the family court in that county.
(b) Officers and employees of the children's court in each county
outside the city of New York shall, to the extent practicable, be
transferred to the family court in their respective counties in accord
with article seven-a of the judiciary law.
S 216-A. Clerk of court. There shall be a clerk of court for the
family court in each county. The clerk of court shall keep the court
records and seal and have such other responsibilities as may be provided
in accord with article seven-a of the judiciary law.
S 216-B. Petition forms. The clerk of the court shall give petition
forms to any person requesting them.
S 216-C Preparation of petitions. (a) Whenever a petitioner is not
represented by counsel, any person who assists in the preparation of a
petition shall include all allegations presented by the petitioner.
(b) No clerk of the court or probation officer may prevent any person
who wishes to file a petition from having such petition filed with the
court immediately.
(c) If there is a question regarding whether or not the family court
has jurisdiction of the matter, the petition shall be prepared and the
clerk shall file the petition and refer the petition to the court for
determination of all issues including the jurisdictional question.
(d) This section shall not be applicable to juvenile delinquency
proceedings.
S 217. Orders; filing and service. 1. An order shall be in writing and
signed with the judge's signature or initials by the judge who made it.
The form of such order shall be promulgated by the chief administrator
of the courts pursuant to section two hundred fourteen of this article.
2. The original of an order of the family court shall be filed with
the clerk of the family court in the county in which the family court
making the order is located.
3. The court shall file or direct the filing of an order within twenty
days of the decision of the court. If the court directs that such order
be settled on notice, such twenty day period shall commence on the date
on which such order is settled.
4. The court shall direct service of a copy of an order in whatever
manner it deems appropriate. If the court makes no direction, the
applicable provisions of the civil practice law and rules shall apply.
Where the clerk of the court is directed to serve such order, the clerk
shall note in the court record the manner and date of service and the
person to whom such order was served.
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