Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Photo: Peter Foley/Bloomberg

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced support during his annual State of the State address Wednesday for Chief Judge Janet DiFiore's ambitious proposal to overhaul the state's trial court system into a consolidated tier of venues intended to better serve attorneys and litigants.

It's the first time Cuomo has said he would discuss the issue of court reform with members of the Legislature, who have for years given the idea only cursory consideration.

"Many have tried it before. It needs to be done," Cuomo said. "I know our great chief judge can get it done. We will work with her."

DiFiore said in a statement following the address that she wasn't surprised Cuomo expressed support for the idea of court reform, which also has the backing of the New York State Bar Association and other groups, like the Empire Justice Center.

"Governor Cuomo's commitment to support court consolidation comes as no surprise," DiFiore said. "The Governor works for the people, and our current trial court structure is simply not working for the people."

Hank Greenberg, the current president of the State Bar Association and a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, predicted that Cuomo's support for the proposal would build momentum for it to be considered by the Legislature this year.

"We applaud the governor for his leadership in support of the chief judge's court reform proposal," Greenberg said. "This builds tremendous momentum for it and brings us even closer to getting it done."

DiFiore's proposal, formally announced last year, would consolidate the state's current 11 different trial courts into just three venues. The state's current court structure would be folded into those venues to increase efficiencies.

The plan is intended to benefit litigants who often have to pursue action in more than one type of court to resolve a matter.

The most common example used to support the plan is a proceeding during which a survivor of domestic violence is pursuing court action against their abuser. That victim would have to go to criminal court to pursue charges against their abuser, matrimonial court to deal with divorce proceedings, and family court if there's a child involved in the matter.

Under DiFiore's plan, that could all be done in one court. The plan provides that each of those courts would likely be rolled into one unified court, rather than individual courts.

The judges of those courts would remain, but assume a different title. They would have the capacity to deal with multiple proceedings involving one case. They would serve either on a newly unified state Supreme Court or a new statewide Municipal Court.

The state's town and village courts would remain unchanged by DiFiore's proposal, but New York Attorney General Letitia James has previously called on those courts to be modernized and possibly consolidated.

The idea of court reform isn't new. It's actually been kicked around for the past few decades, but members of the state Legislature haven't had the appetite to act on it. That could change this year. Democrats have said they're willing to take a closer look at the proposal.

State lawmakers held the first hearings in at least two decades on the idea of court reorganization last month. Democrats have since said they're generally supportive of the idea, but that some concerns would have to be worked out ahead of any approval.

The proposal, if approved, is a long way off. It would require an amendment to the state constitution, which means the Legislature would have to vote on it twice and send the measure to voters for approval. The earliest it could be placed on the ballot is 2021.

The plan itself, as it's proposed now, wouldn't be fully phased in until 2027.

State Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Democrat from Manhattan who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee said after the address Wednesday that he's looking forward to working with Cuomo and other lawmakers to make progress on DiFiore's proposal.

"I'm very pleased he thinks court reform is a necessity," Hoylman said. "We need to do something to simplify our court system for instigation, for people who are the least well-placed to wind their way through very complicated court system."

Advocates in support of court reform also hailed Cuomo's commitment Wednesday. Denise Kronstadt, deputy executive director of the group Modern Courts, said in a statement on behalf of a coalition of supportive groups that they were encouraged by Cuomo's remarks.

"The NYS Constitution perpetuates barriers to justice because of the confusing and obsolete structure of the courts and needs to be amended," Kronstadt said.

Cuomo included several other proposals in his State of the State address Wednesday geared at some of his long-time priorities, like stronger gun control laws and issues affecting women and the LGBTQ community.

One proposal would bar individuals from obtaining a gun license in New York if they're convicted of certain misdemeanors in another state. Those misdemeanors, characterized as 'serious offenses,' currently don't prevent someone from getting a gun license in New York.

Another proposal would strengthen the state's laws concerning rape, and specifically which instances would be required to qualify for such a charge.

Under current law, a person can't consent to sex if they're deemed mentally incapacitated. But the law says mental incapacitation occurs when someone involuntarily consumes drugs or alcohol. That can limit the ability of prosecutors to pursue rape charges in some instances.

Cuomo's proposal would make clear that someone could be deemed mentally incapacitated whether they willingly became intoxicated, or did so involuntarily.

Another priority for Cuomo this year that's geared toward women, but also members of the LGBTQ community, is gestational surrogacy. New York currently outlaws contracts where a woman is paid to carry the child of someone who physically can't on their own.

Gestational surrogacy was also a priority last year for Cuomo—and a number of Democrats—but it failed to become law after lawmakers in the Assembly expressed concerns about the measure. They were worried the idea would lead to the commercialization of women.

It's unclear if those concerns will be assuaged during this year's legislative session. Cuomo's proposal isn't any different from what was considered last year, and lawmakers in the Assembly haven't said they'll budge on their opposition.

Cuomo is also seeking to strengthen the power of the state Department of Financial Services over debt collection companies.

Those companies are already regulated by the agency, but they're not licensed. That means they're not subject to the same oversight from the agency as other financial institutions. The agency consequently has limited power over their operations.

Under Cuomo's proposal, those companies would be licensed by DFS, which would be empowered to investigate them and bring punitive administrative actions for any misconduct.

As part of that proposal, Cuomo is seeking an outright ban on so-called confessions of judgement.

Confessions of judgement are usually included in an application for a loan and contain language that allows a creditor to enter a judgement in court in lieu of litigation when a borrower misses a payment. They essentially give up their right to defend the seizure.

Cuomo's proposal would prohibit the use of confessions of judgement in consumer loans. Legislation was approved last year to limit the use of confessions of judgement, but the bill did not ban them outright.

While the year's legislative session runs through June, Cuomo will likely seek to include several of his proposals laid out Tuesday in this year's state budget. The spending plan is due at the end of March and often includes matters of policy, coupled with state spending.

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