The State of New York Court of Appeals issued four opinions from May 15-21. As of May 21, the court issued 30 opinions in 2023 — 10 fewer than this point a year ago. Three of four opinions are below:
- People v. Johnson, where the court “reversed the denial of Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence seized as a result of a stop and frisk, holding that the circumstances of this case did not warrant a level three stop and frisk under People v. De Bour, 40 N.Y.2d 210 (1976).”
- People v. Saenger, where the court “affirmed in part and reversed in part Defendant’s criminal convictions, holding that the count of the indictment charging Defendant with aggravated family offense was jurisdictionally defective and must be dismissed but that there was no error as to Defendant’s conviction of criminal contempt in the first degree.”
- Hoehmann v. Town of Clarkstown, where the court “affirmed the order of the appellate division concluding that the underlying challenge to Local Law No. 9-2014 was not time-barred by either a four-month or a six-year statute of limitations, holding that there was no error.” Local Law No. 9-2014 “purportedly set an eight-year term limit for all Clarkstown elected officials and required a supermajority vote of the Town Board to repeal.”
From May 15-21, state supreme courts issued 186 opinions nationally. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia issued the most with 21. State supreme courts in 15 states issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 121 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 65.
The State of New York Court of Appeals is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Rowan Wilson. The court issued 85 opinions in 2022 and 69 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 2,660 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 1,511 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 1,149. New York is a Democratic trifecta, meaning Democrats control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
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