Because the state caps the number of Supreme Court justices and Criminal Court judges, the Office of Court Administration covers the gaps by moving judges from court to court.
Number of elected justices capped by the state Constitution
Supreme Court
The state’s main trial court
Criminal cases
Felony cases after indictment
13,908
New felony cases in 2025
Civil cases
Commercial, matrimonial, tort and other civil cases
Who: Elected justices, plus acting justices borrowed from other courts
Maximum elected judgeships allowed in New York City: 173
1Elevated3Weekends
Number of judges capped by state law
Criminal Court
Misdemeanor cases, and felony cases before indictment
129,899
New misdemeanor cases in 2025
Who: Criminal Court judges appointed by the mayor, plus reassigned Civil Court judges
Criminal Court judgeships allowed by law: 109
2Reassigned
Civil Court
Civil cases up to $50,000
Who: Elected judges
In 2022: 48 of its 120 elected judges were hearing Civil Court cases. The other 72 were assigned to Criminal, Family or Supreme Court.
Judges experienced in criminal lawJudges who often have no criminal law experience
1
Elevated
Supreme Court doesn’t have enough elected justices for the city’s felony cases, so the Office of Court Administration makes experienced Criminal Court judges acting Supreme Court justices. Many are former prosecutors and defense lawyers.
How many: 69 Criminal Court judges were serving as acting Supreme Court justices in 2022, the latest public count
2
Reassigned
That leaves vacancies in Criminal Court, where state law caps the number of judgeships. The office fills them with elected Civil Court judges, most of whom have no criminal law experience. After a few weeks of training, they set bail for people accused of violent crimes, decide search-and-seizure questions and sentence people to up to a year in jail.
3
Weekends
On weekends, acting Supreme Court justices who hear civil cases during the week handle arraignments in Criminal Court. Many have no criminal law experience and haven’t had the Civil Court judges’ training. They make sure newly arrested defendants are advised of their rights, take guilty pleas on misdemeanors and decide whether to hold defendants in jail until trial.
How often: Each acting justice drawn from Civil or Criminal Court takes five to 10 weekend and holiday arraignment shifts a year. Elected justices don’t.