New York lawmakers are exploring solutions for a judge shortage that's causing significant delays in criminal trials, with pending criminal cases rising by 35.7% since 2019. However, judges' representatives worry that proposed changes could politicize the judiciary. State Supreme Court Justice Frank Caruso warns that such measures may lead to unequal representation and shift judgeships between regions, ultimately affecting judicial fairness. Discharged jail inmates often wait over a year for trial, highlighting urgent systemic issues within the legal system.
Judgeships could be shifted from one end of the state to the other, and the people would not have their fair and equal representation... There's got to be a point where the politics has to stop.
The number of pending criminal cases in the state has increased by 35.7% since 2019, and the number of pending civil cases has increased 21% over the same period.
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