Overview
Court simplification will:
- Remove procedural and jurisdictional obstacles associated with a multi-layered trial court structure, to reduce the cost and time of litigation.
- Simplify the trial court structure by reducing the number of courts and thereby make it more accessible and easier to understand for the public and the Bar.
- Ease the difficulties experienced by children and families in family-related litigation (e.g., cases involving divorce, child custody and support, family offense), while promoting greater fairness and consistency of result.
- Consolidate the State’s lower courts and expand their powers, enabling them to better serve local communities. (This amendment would not affect Town and Village Justice Courts.)
- Insure a more appropriate distribution of resources to the various courts, especially those that handle family matters.
- Greatly broaden the pool of judges that can be appointed to the Appellate Courts.