Assemblyman Joseph Lentol. Photo: ZUMA Press/Newscom

ALBANY—A Brooklyn assemblyman has introduced legislation to increase the number of judicial departments in New York in an effort to lessen the “overcrowding” in the Appellate Division, Second Department.

Assemblyman Joe Lentol, a Democrat, introduced legislation Monday that would increase the state's four judicial departments to five by creating a Second Department, North consisting of the counties north of New York City within the Ninth Judicial District, which include Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam and Dutchess counties. Under Lentol's proposal, the Second Department South would consist of Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties. The bill presently makes no mention of Richmond County (Staten Island), which is in the Second Department.

According to the legislation's justification, it takes up to 18 months for oral arguments to be heard after filing a brief in the Second Department. By comparison, it generally takes six to eight months from filing a brief to oral arguments at the First Department, which covers Manhattan and the Bronx.

Splitting the Second Department would “speed up case review to more suitable times,” the bill says. But the bill's language is unclear as to whether more judges would have to be hired and no estimate of the cost was provided.

Because Lentol's proposal would amend the state's constitution, it would have to be passed by both the state Assembly and Senate during two consecutive legislative sessions and then sent to New York voters for approval.

Yoel Weisshaus, a New York City-based paralegal, said he had reached out to several legislators over what he called “extreme delays” at the Second Department.

“I reached out to Lentol and he was very receptive and understood the problem,” Weisshaus told the New York Law Journal on Wednesday, noting that Lentol agreed to sponsor the legislation.

Lentol, who was not immediately available for an interview Wednesday, is the head of the chamber's codes committee, which reviews all legislation relating to criminal justice.

Lentol's proposal comes weeks after voters rejected a once-every-20-years ballot proposal to hold a constitutional convention to consider revisions to the New York State Constitution. Proponents of holding a constitutional convention, including the State Bar, had argued that holding a constitutional convention would provide an opportunity to modernize the state's court system.

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said earlier this month that she wasn't going to wait another 20 years to reform the state's “byzantine” court system. DiFiore reconvened a panel of judges, attorneys and academics to examine legislative reforms on how to make the courts more efficient.

“The goal is to reduce delays, make the courts more efficient, reduce costs to the litigants and improve the quality of justice,” Administrative Judge Alan Scheinkman, one of the chairs of the task force, told the New York Law Journal earlier this month.

A spokesman for the state's court system said in an email Wednesday that they hadn't yet reviewed Lentol's legislation, but will be reviewing the proposal in the near future.

Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, the recently named chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, told the New York Law Journal that the Lentol's proposal is “something worth looking at.”

“It's something I think we should examine. I'm not clear whether or not it's necessary. I'd need to see data,” Dinowitz said during a phone interview. Lentol's proposal of splitting the Second Department into two sectors could also come with additional costs, particularly if each sector has its own set of judges, Dinowitz added.