New York Attorney General Letitia James' surprise recommendation last week that the state Legislature consider making changes to the operations of local town and village courts has pitted the judges elected in those communities against the state's top lawyer.

The New York State Magistrates Association, which represents those jurists, responded Monday to the Attorney General's Office, calling its recommendations unfounded.

Tanja Sirago, a justice from the Upstate New York town of Cairo, who leads the New York State Magistrates Association, said they were as surprised as anyone to hear that the attorney general's office had been looking into the state's smallest courts.

"It seems like an extremely one-sided point of view," Sirago said. "There should be representation from both sides. When something like this comes out—a report with research—we should be included."

That was after a representative from the attorney general's office told state lawmakers during a public hearing on the state's court structure last week that they should also consider making changes to town and village courts, including consolidation and technological upgrades.

The attorney general's office also said it would support legislation that would allow defendants to transfer their criminal proceeding to another court with an attorney on the bench. In New York, nonattorneys can be town and village judges.

Jill Faber, deputy attorney general for regional affairs, testified for the attorney general's office at the hearing.

"It's our hope that, through these broad changes, we can reform what's, in many ways, an obsolete two-tiered system and ensure that New Yorkers that come before their local court … have the same access to justice," Faber said.

Those recommendations were born from months of interviews and research by the attorney general's office, Faber told lawmakers. Sirago said they weren't contacted.

"I just don't understand where they got their information from," Sirago said. "Had they sought out the New York State Magistrates Association, we could have clarified quite a few things."

Sirago claimed the attorney general's office misrepresented the technological capabilities of town and village courts to the Legislature, as well as the level of training received by the state's local judges, attorney or not.

Faber suggested to members of the state Legislature, for example, that not all town and village courts record audio during court proceedings. That's not true, Sirago said.

The Action Plan for the Justice Courts, announced by former Chief Judge Judith Kaye more than a decade ago, required all proceedings in town and village courts to be recorded. The state Office of Court Administration agreed, at the time, to provide recording devices.

"It's all supplied and maintained by the Office of Justice Court Support and OCA," Sirago said. "They are required to have it up during all arraignments, even if it's 2 a.m. You have to turn the computer on, go into the recorder and make sure it's recording."

Sirago also took issue with a suggestion that not all town and village courts in New York have access to translation services for litigants who don't speak English as their first language. 

Judges in New York have access to a service that allows a translator to be connected to a proceeding by phone when one's not physically present, Sirago said. It costs each municipality money to use, she said, but it's available statewide.

"I held court on Tuesday night and I had one Spanish interpreter and I had one, believe it or not, Malaysian interpreter," Sirago said. "It's provided through the courts."

Sirago also defended the level of training each town and village justice receives while they're on the bench. 

Faber had testified during the hearing that not all town and village justices in New York, particularly those without a law degree, may be prepared to handle every kind of proceeding before them. She urged the Legislature to require more training for those judges.

"Enhanced mandated training should be implemented to ensure they're prepared to handle complex criminal matters, constitutional questions, motions, jury trials, and evidentiary rulings," Faber said.

Town and village judges already go through mandated training, Sirago said. To be certified annually, each of those judges has to undergo 12 credits in training approved by OCA. Many choose to seek more, Sirago said.

"So, these judges are not only getting mandatory training, they're getting elective training," she said.

The issue of training goes back to the concept of nonattorneys sitting on the bench in town and village courts. State law doesn't require those jurists to have a law degree. They're the only group of judges in the state with that right.

Faber, in her testimony, suggested that legislation be approved next year that would allow defendants to transfer their case when it's brought before a nonattorney judge. Those individuals would be allowed to request that an attorney preside over the matter.

That's not a new idea. Legislation was floated a few years ago in New York that would have allowed defendants to opt out of having their case heard by a nonattorney. It didn't move.

Sirago said they're against the idea, which she predicted would be problematic. Many courts in upstate New York don't have an attorney on the bench because there either isn't one in that community or none are interested in seeking the position.

"The pool has really been flushed," Sirago said. "There's not a lot of attorneys out there."

She also pushed back on a suggestion from the attorney general's office that town and village courts explore the idea of consolidating operations in some cases. Faber said they found instances where courts were within miles, or even blocks, of each other.

Depending on how comprehensive that consolidation plan is, Sirago said it would disenfranchise some individuals who would have to travel farther to access a court.

"What about if these courts go away and a community citizen wants to do a small claims action?" Sirago said. "How far are they going to have to travel? How far are you going to put them out of their way in order to have justice served for them if it's not readily available?"

The attorney general's office has not made the specific findings of its inquiry into town and village courts available to the public, but Sirago said she plans to ask for it.

Neither a request for comment from the attorney general's office on Sirago's response nor a copy of the findings was immediately returned Monday morning.

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