The Appellate Division, Fourth Department first convened to hear oral arguments on Jan. 21, 1896, at the old Monroe County Courthouse in Rochester. Since that maiden calendar was called by Presiding Justice George A. Hardin, the justices of the Fourth Department have heard oral argument in hundreds of thousands of cases. The issues raised by these appeals have evolved over the years. The calendar has grown exponentially, from approximately 500 appeals annually in the 1890s to over 2,000 appeals in recent years. The argument time allotted to each appeal has decreased. The court’s membership has more than doubled, from five authorized judgeships in 1896 to 12 today. The arguing attorneys change with each passing year, as new generations of advocates bring their unique perspectives to the defense of their client’s causes. Even the court’s physical home has moved several times.
One aspect of oral argument has remained constant over the past 121 years, however. In order to observe the court in action, an interested spectator, including a litigant, was obligated to travel to Rochester and sit in the courtroom gallery. But this once-impregnable reality of appellate practice has been updated to reflect the interconnectedness of the digital age. On Jan. 9, 2017, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department began streaming its oral argument sessions live over the Internet. Instead of having to travel to Rochester, any person with an Internet connection, anywhere on earth, can now watch the Fourth Department wrestle with the important and consequential legal issues that occupy its docket each term. To complement this new live-streaming capability, the court will also maintain a digital archive of its argument sessions for on-demand viewing.1
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