The Family Court of the State of New York is a specialized court of the New York State Unified Court System located in each county of the state. The New York City Family Court is the name given to the state Family Court within New York City.
It is a family court that hears cases involving children and families and handles issues such as child abuse and neglect, adoption, child custody and visitation, domestic violence, guardianship, juvenile delinquency, paternity, persons in need of supervision (PINS), child support, and termination of parental rights. In New York City, it has concurrent jurisdiction with the New York City Criminal Court for family offenses (domestic violence).
Family Court does not have jurisdiction over divorces, which must be litigated in the Supreme Court (which is a trial court, rather than the highest court which would be the New York Court of Appeals) and although Criminal Court domestic violence parts typically hear all cases involving crimes against intimate partners (whether opposite- or same-sex), New York law defines family offenses to include only those related by blood, actual marriage (common law marriage is not recognized in New York), or a child in common.
Unlike ordinary trial courts, there is no jury in family court. The cases are heard and decided by a judge. The aim of family court is to make decisions in the best interests of the child.
Child protective proceedings involve cases in which it appears that a child under 18 has been abused or neglected, or is in danger of being abused or neglected. A child protective agency may file a petition in Family Court requesting the court's assistance in protecting the child, where the agency is the petitioner and the parent or caretaker is the respondent. In New York City, petitions are brought by the Administration for Children's Services (ACS).
The court determines whether the allegations of abuse or neglect are proven and, if so, what action should be taken to protect the child. Upon the filing of a petition, the agency may request that the child be removed from the home or remain in the home under specified conditions. If abuse or neglect is established, the court conducts further proceedings to determine an appropriate disposition, including supervision, placement, or other orders in the child's best interests.
Respondents may have the assistance of counsel at no cost if they cannot afford them. An "attorney for the child" is assigned to the child, usually from The Legal Aid Society or Lawyers for Children.
In an emergency, a child protective agency or the police may remove a child with or without a court order. If removed without a court order, respondents can request a "1028 hearing" be held within three court days. The agency must prove that a return home would present an imminent risk to the child's life or health, and the court must consider whether the agency made reasonable efforts to keep the child in the home. A "1027 hearing" can be requested by the agency before removal.
Family Court has jurisdiction over proceedings to determine whether a person is a juvenile delinquent. Family Court delinquency proceedings are civil in form rather than criminal trials. After a youth is arrested, they are detained and taken to court, or released with a desk appearance ticket directing them to appear at court in the future. A probation department intake process determines whether the case should be held for adjustment, such as restitution, community service, referral for community-based services, letter of apology, and/or mediation. Otherwise, the case is referred to a presentment agency (corporation counsel, county attorney, or district attorney) for the filing of a petition.
At the initial appearance, the child is assigned a lawyer and admits or denies the charges, and the probation department recommends they be sent home with a parent or guardian or remanded based on their risk assessment. If remanded, a probable cause hearing is held to determine if there is good reason for it. Alternatives to detention are used if they are sent home with a parent or guardian.
In juvenile delinquency cases, a fact-finding hearing is the trial. The presentment agency must prove its case by calling witnesses and showing other evidence; the respondent's lawyer may cross-examine the witnesses and also present their own witnesses and evidence. If the presentment agency proves the case beyond a reasonable doubt, the judge makes a finding that the respondent committed some or all of the acts described in the petition. If there is a finding, the probation department investigates the respondent's home and school behavior, and may order diagnostic assessments of their mental health.
At a dispositional hearing, the judge decides whether the respondent is a juvenile delinquent in need of supervision, treatment, or confinement (placement) and issues a dispositional order. The respondent, their parents or guardians, and other persons may testify. The judge decides what is best for the child and the community: ordering the respondent placed in a juvenile incarceration facility or in foster care; a conditional discharge, ordering them to live at home under certain conditions; order them to live at home under probation supervision, including alternative to placement program conditions; or adjourn in contemplation of dismissal. If they violate the dispositional order, the judge can order a different disposition, including placement in a juvenile incarceration facility.
In the New York City Family Court (the "Family Court of the State of New York within the City of New York"), judges are appointed by the Mayor to ten-year terms; elsewhere they are elected to ten-year terms. There are 47 judges in the New York City Family Court.
In 1939, Justice Jane Bolin became the first black female judge in the United States when Mayor Fiorello La Guardia swore her in to the bench of the Family Court, then called the Domestic Relations Court. Her 10-year appointment was renewed by the city's mayors three times until she reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.
A court attorney is a lawyer who works with and assists the judge by researching legal questions and helping to write decisions. The court attorney may also meet with the attorneys or parties to a case to try to reach an agreement without the need for a trial.
Referees hear custody, visitation, orders of protection, and foster care cases; private attorneys, judicial hearing officers, or court attorneys may be appointed.
Judicial Hearing Officers (JHOs) hear some family offense, custody, visitation, adoption, and voluntary placement foster care cases.
Support magistrates hear support cases (petitions filed seeking support for a child or spouse) and paternity cases (petitions filed requesting the court to enter an order declaring someone to be the father of a child).
The NYC Domestic Relations part (commonly known as the Family Court) of the Magistrates' Court system created in 1910 had dealt with those chargeable with the support of wives, children and "poor relatives" under its criminal jurisdiction over "disorderly persons". The children's court part of the NYC Court of Special Sessions was created in 1915, from a 1902 children's court division of the New York County Court of General Sessions. Children's courts were authorized throughout the state by constitutional referendum in 1921 followed by statutes in 1922 and 1924. By 1933, jurisdiction was divided among the children's court, the magistrates' courts which dealt with deserting and nonsupporting husbands as "disorderly", the court of special sessions with jurisdiction in illegitimacy cases, the surrogate's court with jurisdiction in adoption cases, and the supreme court with divorce jurisdiction. In 1955 the state acceded to the Interstate Compact on Juveniles, in 1956 the Interstate Compact on Mental Health, and in 1960 the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
The NYC Children's Court and NYC Domestic Relations Court (commonly known as the Family Court) were consolidated into the Domestic Relations Court of the City of New York created on October 1, 1933. In 1962 the Family Court replaced these courts after a 1961 constitutional amendment. The Family Court Act was based more or less on the National Probation and Parole Association's Standard Family Court Act, not its Standard Juvenile Court Act or the Uniform Law Commission's Uniform Juvenile Court Act.