USA > New York > Historical sketch of the judicial tribunals of New York from 1623 to 1846 > Part 10
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During the mayoralty of De Witt Clinton, and the recordership of Maturin Living- ston, Clinton, either through choice or from the increasing duties of his office, ceased to preside in the mayor's court; and from that time until 1821, the recorder sat as the presiding judge of that court, and the mayor as presiding judge of the court of sessions, the recorder being the recognized head of the one, and the mayor of the other. In 1821, it was concluded, from the increasing importance of the mayor's court, and as the mayor had long ceased to preside in it, that a name denoting its municipal origin should be abandoned, and a permanent law judge appointed. Ac- cordingly, an act was passed, changing its name to the court of common pleas for the city and county of New York,8 and creating a first judge, to hold his office dur- ing good behavior, or until he should attain the age of sixty years; but by the con- stitution which was adopted one year later, the tenure of the office was changed to five years, and the power of appointment theretofore lodged in the council of ap- pointment, was vested in the governor. The mayor, recorder and aldermen were
1 Laws of N. Y. 1787, 10 Ses. MeKisson's Ed. p. 182.
2 Judicial Opinions delivered in the Mayor's Court of the city of New York, in the year 1802. FORSAN ET PACE OLIM MEMINISSI JUVABIT. New York: D. Longworth, 1803. Many of the decisions of the Mayor's Court, moreover, will be found in the volumes of the City Hall Recorder.
3 This act was drawn by John Anthon, Esq., then the most prominent practitioner in the Mayor's Court.
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JUDICIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE STATE.
still authorized to sit in it; but the first judge was empowered to hold the court without them, and it was made his especial duty to hold it.1 After the passage of this act, John T. Irving was appointed first judge ; and upon the appointment of Judge Irving, though no provision to that effect was contained in the act, Stephen Allen, who was the mayor, ceased to preside in the court of sessions. Recorder Riker, who had sat for some years in the mayor's court, took the mayor's place as presiding judge of the sessions ; and Judge Irving sat alone as judge of the court of common pleas ; neither the mayor, recorder or aldermen, though entitled to do so, taking any part thereafter in its proceedings, except when all the judges were con- vened, in what, by virtue of the act of 1821, was denominated the county court. This tribunal, composed of the first judge, the mayor, recorder and all the aldermen, was occasionally convened for the impeachment and trial of officers of the munici- pal government, the first judge acting as presiding officer, until it was abolished by the constitution of 1846. Judge Irving presided alone in the court for thirteen years, during which time the leading practitioners before him were John Anthon, Martin S. Wilkins, Elisha W. King, John T. Mulligan, Robert Bogardus, Pierre C. Van Wyck, Thomas Phoenix, Joseph D. Fay, David Graham, sen., Hugh Maxwell, John Leveridge and William M. Price, though the members of what was then known as the senior bar. Thomas Addis Emmet, Peter A. Jay, Peter W. Radcliffe, Samuel M. Hopkins, David B. Ogden, William Slosson, William Samson and others, appeared fre- quently in the court, as associate counsel in important cases. Judge Irving continued to preside as first judge until his death, in all, seventeen years. As a judge he was in many respects a model for imitation. To the strictest integrity and a strong love of justice, he united the most exact and methodical habits of business. Attentive, careful and pains taking, few judges in this state ever have been more accurate or perhaps more generally correct in their decisions. While presiding at nisi prius, he was not what would be termed a quick minded man ; but when questions were argued before him in banc, he bestowed so much care, and considered each case so attentively, that his judgments were rarely reversed, and were uniformly treated by the courts of revision with the greatest respect. He shared, in common with his more distinguished brother, Washington Irving, a talent for literary composition, and wrote with great elegance, ease and perspicuity. In early life he gave promise of attaining a dis- tinguished rank as a writer, and published in the newspapers of the day, in addition to other compositions, many poetical effusions upon political subjects, remarkable for their point, brilliancy and satire ; but his weighty judicial duties-the close application to which, no doubt, shortened his life-left him no leisure ; and he appears to have lost all taste thereafter for literary pursuits. Upon his death, the bar caused a handsome marble tablet, with his bust in relievo, and a suitable inscription, to be placed in the court room, as a mark of respect for his memory.2
In 1800, the terms of the court of sessions were changed to six times a year, and,
1 Laws of New York, 1821, chap. 72.
2 VIRO · HONORATO IOANNI · T · IRVING
QVEM . JVDICIS . OFFICIO . MULTOS . PER . ANNOS . FVNCENTEM
ET.LEQVM. DOCTRINA . ET.MORVM . INTEGRITAS . FELICISSEME.CONDECORABANT IVRISCONSULTI · NEO-EBORACENSES . QVIBVS . ET . AMICI . ET . MAGISTRI TAM · TRISTE . RELQVIT · DESIDERIVM
H . M . PONENDVM · CVRAVERVNT
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HISTORY OF THE COURT AND OF THE
in 1813, were directed to be held monthly. In 1850, a city judge was created with the same powers as the recorder. In 1847, the power of the aldermen to sit in the court of common pleas was taken away; and by the amended charter of 1853, they are no longer entitled to sit in the court of sessions.
As any cause might be removed for trial from the mayor's court to the supreme court by habeas corpus or certiorari, where the amount involved exceeded £20, an act was passed in 1789, forbidding their removal, except in certain cases,1 unless the amount exceeded £100 ($250). In 1823, this was increased to $500.2 In 1837 it was further increased to $2,500,3 and in 1844, the power to remove any cause was taken away, and the jurisdiction of the court remained thereafter unlimited in amount.4
In 1834, an associate judge of the court of common pleas was created, who was vested with all the powers of the first judge, and Michael Ulshoeffer was appointed to the office. In 1838, upon the death of Judge Irving, Judge Ulshoeffer was appointed first judge, and Daniel P. Ingraham associate judge. In 1839, an additional as- sociaté judge was created, vested with all the powers of the other judges, and Wil- liam Inglis appointed. In 1844, Charles P. Daly was appointed in place of Judge Inglis, and the court, as thus constituted, a first judge and two associates, remained until the adoption of the constitution of 1846. By that instrument, the court of common pleas and the superior court of the city of New York were specially excepted from the general judicial re-organization of the state, but by an act passed in the following year," it was provided that the terms of the judges of both courts should expire on the 17th January thereafter, and that an election of judges by the people, for each of the courts, should take place in the June preceding; that the terms of the judges elected should be classified in terms of two, four and six years, to be determined by lot, and that the election of all judges thereafter, in either of the courts, should be for six years. In June, 1847, all the existing judges of the common pleas were elected, and the allotment of terms resulted as follows : Michael Ulshoeffer, two years, Daniel P. Ingraham, four years, and Charles P. Daly, six years. In 1849, Lewis B. Woodruff was elected in place of Judge Ulshoeffer, and in June, 1850, Daniel P. Ingraham was appointed first judge. In 1851, Judge Ingraham was re-elected for six years, and in 1853, Charles P. Daly was re-elected for a similar term.
By the judiciary act of 1847, by the code passed in 1848, and amended in 1849, 1851 and 1853, the court of common pleas exercises unlimited jurisdiction, in law or equity, where the defendants reside, or are personally served with process, in the city of New York, or where one or more defendants, jointly liable upon contract, so reside, or are personally served in the city. It has also jurisdiction against corpora- tions, created by the laws of the state, who transact their general business, or keep an office for the transaction of business, in the city of New York, and against foreign corporations, upon any cause of action arising in the state, or for the recovery of any debt or damages, whether liquidated or not, arising upon a contract made, executed
1 Laws of 1844, 30.
2 Laws of 1847, 279.
3 Laws of 1789.
4 Laws of 1S23.
5 Laws of 1837, 547.
CALIFO
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JUDICIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE STATE.
or delivered within the state. By the code, certain actions are required to be tried in the county where the subject matter of the action is situated, or the cause of action has arisen in the county ; of which actions the court has jurisdiction, irrespect- ive of the residence of the parties, or the personal service of process. They em- brace actions for the recovery of real property, or of an estate or interest therein, or for the determination, in any form, of such right or interest ; for injuries to real pro- perty ; for the partition of real property ; for the foreclosure of a mortgage of real property ; for the recovery of personal property distrained ; for the recovery of a penalty or forfeiture imposed by statute, except where it is imposed for an offence committed on a lake, river or other stream of water, situated in two or more coun- ties ; in which case, the action may be brought in any county bordering on such lake, river or stream, and opposite to the place where the offence was committed ; and actions against a public officer, or person specially appointed to execute his duties, for an act done by him, in virtue of his office, or against a person who, by his com- mand, or in his aid, shall do any thing touching the duties of such office. And by the judiciary act, as well as by an act passed in 1854,1 the court also possesses jurisdiction, in special proceedings, for the disposition of the real estate of infants, where such real estate is situated in the city of New York ; the care and custody of the persons and estates of lunatics, persons of unsound mind, or habitual drunkards, residing in the city; the mortgage or sale of the real estate of religious corporations, and in the admeasurement of dower, in lands within the city. And an appeal from its judgments or determinations, except in an action originally commenced in the marine or a justice's court, lies directly to the tribunal of last resort, the court of appeals.2
The court of common pleas is made by the code the court of review, from the judg- ments of the marine or the district justices' courts of the city, and its decision upon an appeal from any of these courts is final.3 It has, also, exclusive jurisdiction in pro- ceedings upon liens against real estate, under the act passed in 1851, " for the better security of mechanics and others erecting buildings and furnishing materials therefor, in the city and county of New York," except that when the lien is docketed for a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars, proceedings may be instituted in the marine court, or in a justice's court in the judicial district where the building is situated.ª And, also, the exclusive power of remitting fines imposed by the court of sessions as penalties, or of relieving against or remitting judgment entered upon forfeited recognizances under the statute." And of entertaining proceedings supplementary to execution, upon judgments recovered in the marine and district courts in the city, where a tran- script of the judgment is docketed with the county clerk, and the amount re- covered exceeds, exclusive of costs, twenty five dollars.
In 1854, an act was passed, creating a clerk of the court, to be appointed by the judges ; the clerk of the county having theretofore been the clerk both of the su- preme court and of the court of common pleas, and to remove all doubt as to the gene- ral powers and jurisdiction of the court, this act affirmed its powers in remitting
1 Laws of 1854, 464.
2 Code, 1852, § 33, 123 and 124.
3 Code, § 11, subdiv. 4, § 34.
4 Laws of 1851, 953.
6 Laws of 1844, p. 469. Laws of 1845, p. 250. Laws of 1854, p. 464.
F
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HISTORY OF THE COURT, &C.
fines and recognizances; in correcting and discharging the dockets of liens and judgments entered upon recognizances; affirmed all its previous powers; conferred upon it all the powers then or thereafter to be vested in the county courts ; and generally confirmed its powers as a court of original and general jurisdiction, to the same extent as they were had and exercised before the adoption of the constitu- tion of 1846.1
1 Laws of 1854, p. 464.
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Slavery prohibited by on N.Y. by the "Anki's Laws" [James d. of York) 10, 22 even Jurors, not 12 - unanimity only in capital cases, frage 23
Change of Ontch Governo to English p. 25
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