New York Court of Common Pleas
Encyclopedia
The New York Court of Common Pleas was a state court in New York
. Established in New Netherland
in 1686, the Court remained in existence in the Province of New York
and, after the American Revolution
, in the U.S. state
of New York until it was abolished in 1894.
James Wilton Brooks writes in History of the Court of common pleas of the city and county of New York (1896) that:
established the colony of New Netherland
, centered around New Amsterdam
in Manhattan
, in 1623. Brooks writes that for many years no provision was made for the administration for justice in the colony. In 1623, Peter Minuit
, shortly after being appointed Director-General of New Netherland
, formed a council of five, which held legislative
, executive
, and judicial
powers. A Dutch colonial official called the Schout
was also attached to this body. Together the Governor, Schout, and Council were supervised by the Dutch colonial
authorities at Amsterdam
. These authorities carried out judicial powers from 1626 to 1637, during Minuit's six years as Director-General and during four years of the term of his successor, Wouter van Twiller
.
Although records were kept, no records have survived detailing judicial proceedings under the Council. The Schout Fiscal was a combination of prosecutor
, sheriff
, chief of police
, constable
, and warden with the duty to "under the orders of the Governor's Council to arrest
and arraign
on behalf of the Company all persons accused of crime, to superintend the trial
, and see to the proper carrying out of the sentence
." Despite this concentration of powers, however, some rights of the accused
were observed, including the consideration of evidence
for the prisoner and a speedy trial
. The Schout was also required to "keep a strict account of all information taken by him and of all criminal trials, and regularly transmit reports to the Company's main offices in Holland." The Schout also has executive power to enforce the laws and rules of the States-General of the Netherlands
.
Patroon
courts were first established in 1630. Patroons (from the Dutch
for owner or head of a company) were landholders with manorial rights
to large tracts of land in New Netherland in North America along the Hudson River
. Through the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions
of 1629, the Dutch West India Company first started to grant this title and land to some of its invested members. These inducements to foster immigration
were known as the "Rights and Exemptions," more commonly known as the patroon system. patroon acted as feudal
lord
s, with the power to create civil and criminal courts, appoint local officials and hold land in perpetuity, and in return was commissioned by the Dutch West India Company to establish a settlement of at least 50 families within four years on the land. The patroon exercised within his authority "unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction...even the power of life and death," subject to an appeal to the Governor.
When Peter Stuyvesant
became governor in 1647, he immediately established a Court of Justice with the broad jurisdiction
to decide "all cases whatsoever," with the directive to refer cases of any important to the governor for approval. Brooks writes that this scheme produced "popular discount," resulting in a "wrangle between the governor and the colonies, which brought about a number of trips to Holland, covered a number of years and abounded in dramatic incidents."
This led to the formation in 1653, of the The Worshipful Court of the Schout, Burgomasters and Schepens. This tribunal consisted of the Schout
, four Burgomaster
s, and nine Schepen
s. Like the Schout, the position of the Burgomaster and Schepen came from the Netherlands. The Burgomasters were administrators who rotated three-month terms "to attend at City Hall for the dispatch of public business." Schepens (aldermen
) were judicial officers with jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters. Together, the three orders of officers formed a college
and enacted laws and ordinances for the city, analogous to the General Court
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
. The body, collectively known as the Lords of the Court of the City of New Amsterdam, was headed either by a chosen president or the senior Burgomaster.
The court was held at least every two weeks and often every week; the parties
before the court stated the case and the judges rendered a decision based on the facts or arbitrators
were appointed to review the case and proposed a compromise
between the parties. Appeals to the court from the arbitrators' decisions were rare. In the case of a difference in how parties stated the facts, witness
es were called and affidavit
s presented or depositions
taken.
as the Province of New York
, and New Amsterdam was named New York. The Court of Common Pleas was established in New York City in 1686 under the Dongan Charter, the early municipal
Charter of the City of New York, granted by Governor Thomas Dongan
on July 22, 1686. The Charter provided that the Mayor
, Recorder
, and Alderman, or any three of them given that either the Recorder or Mayor was one, were authorized to hold the Court of Common Pleas (Mayor's Court), which was presided over by the Mayor and Recorder alternately. An Act of 1691 created a Court of Common Pleas in each of New York's counties, which at the time numbered 12.
Judges and clerk
s were appointed by the governor of New York and held office at his pleasure or during good behavior. The court's jurisdiction extended to all actions in which the amount in controversy
exceeded five English pounds
. After 1691, appeals to the decisions of the court went to the Supreme Court of the Province of New York, which heard appeals in which the amount involved exceeded 20 pounds. Brooks writes that the Court of Common Pleas was often known under the original Dutch title, even as late as 1821, and was called the Mayors' Court, with its criminal branch known as the New York Court of General Sessions.
, and records are uncertain as to whether the court was held during the American Revolutionary War
. In early 1784, James Duane
was appointed mayor of New York City
, and from that time after the Court was in continuing existence until its abolition. Under Duane, who served in the Continental Congress
, notable figures including Alexander Hamilton
, Aaron Burr
, Robert Troup
, Edward Livingston
, Henry Brockholst Livingston
, Egbert Benson
, Morgan Lewis
, and Josiah Ogden Hoffman practiced before the Court. Duane presided until 1789, when the President George Washington
appointed him to the U.S. District Court for the District of New York.
When Maturin Livingston
was Recorder of New York City
, Mayor DeWitt Clinton
ceased to preside in the Mayor's Court, and from that time on the Recorder sat as presiding judge. By 1821, the mayor had ceased to preside completely as the docket
had increased substantially in size. John Anthon, a prominent lawyer, wrote an act to change the name to the Court of Common Pleas of the City of New York, and to create the position of First Judge. The New York Legislature
passed the bill. Although the Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen still had the power to preside over the Court of Common Pleas, the First Judge was given special responsibility for the court and had the power to hold court himself without the Recorder or Mayor. John T. Irving was appointed First Judge. In 1834, an Associate Judge was provided, with all the powers of the First Judge. Michael Ulshoffer was appointed to the post. In 1839, a third judge was provided for due to an increase in the court's workload; William Inglis was appointed as Associate Judge.
Charles Patrick Daly
served as a judge of the New York Court of Common Pleas 1844–1857, as First Judge 1857-1871, and as Chief Justice 1871-1885.
The Court of Common Pleas for the City of New York was abolished in 1895.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Established in New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
in 1686, the Court remained in existence in the Province of New York
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
and, after the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of New York until it was abolished in 1894.
James Wilton Brooks writes in History of the Court of common pleas of the city and county of New York (1896) that:
The Court of Common Pleas, founded in 1686, in the City of New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, extended in 1691 throughout the State, restricted again in 1846 to the City of New York, and finally, in accordance with the amended State Constitution of 1894, passing out of existence on the thirty-first of December, 1895, was the oldest judicial tribunal in the state of New York. It succeeded "The Worshipful Court of the SchoutSchoutIn Dutch-speaking areas, a schout was a local official appointed to carry out administrative, law enforcement and prosecutorial tasks. The office was abolished with the introduction of administrative reforms during the Napoleonic period.- Functions:...
, BurgomasterBurgomasterBurgomaster is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration...
s and SchepenSchepenA schepen is a Dutch word referring to a municipal civic office in Dutch-speaking countries. The term is still in use in Belgium, but it has been replaced by wethouder in the Netherlands. The closest English terms are alderman, member of the municipal executive, councillor and magistrate,...
s", which was established in 1653 and may thus be said to have had a continues existence of nearly two centuries and a half.
New Netherland
The Dutch West India CompanyDutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
established the colony of New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
, centered around New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, in 1623. Brooks writes that for many years no provision was made for the administration for justice in the colony. In 1623, Peter Minuit
Peter Minuit
Peter Minuit, Pieter Minuit, Pierre Minuit or Peter Minnewit was a Walloon from Wesel, in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, then part of the Duchy of Cleves. He was the Director-General of the Dutch colony of New Netherland from 1626 until 1633, and he founded the Swedish colony of...
, shortly after being appointed Director-General of New Netherland
Director-General of New Netherland
This is a list of Directors, appointed by the Dutch West India Company, of the 17th century Dutch province of New Netherland in North America...
, formed a council of five, which held legislative
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
, executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
, and judicial
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
powers. A Dutch colonial official called the Schout
Schout
In Dutch-speaking areas, a schout was a local official appointed to carry out administrative, law enforcement and prosecutorial tasks. The office was abolished with the introduction of administrative reforms during the Napoleonic period.- Functions:...
was also attached to this body. Together the Governor, Schout, and Council were supervised by the Dutch colonial
Dutch colonization of the Americas
Dutch trading posts and plantations in the Americas precede the much wider known colonization activities of the Dutch in Asia. Whereas the first Dutch fort in Asia was built in 1600 , the first forts and settlements on the Essequibo river in Guyana and on the Amazon date from the 1590s...
authorities at Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. These authorities carried out judicial powers from 1626 to 1637, during Minuit's six years as Director-General and during four years of the term of his successor, Wouter van Twiller
Wouter van Twiller
Wouter van Twiller was an employee of the Dutch West India Company and the Director-General of New Netherland from 1633 until 1638...
.
Although records were kept, no records have survived detailing judicial proceedings under the Council. The Schout Fiscal was a combination of prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
, sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
, chief of police
Chief of police
A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...
, constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
, and warden with the duty to "under the orders of the Governor's Council to arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
and arraign
Arraignment
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal complaint in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant of the charges against him or her. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea...
on behalf of the Company all persons accused of crime, to superintend the trial
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
, and see to the proper carrying out of the sentence
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...
." Despite this concentration of powers, however, some rights of the accused
Rights of the accused
The rights of the accused is a "class" of civil and political rights that apply to a person accused of a crime, from when he or she is arrested and charged to when he or she is either convicted or acquitted...
were observed, including the consideration of evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
for the prisoner and a speedy trial
Speedy trial
Speedy trial refers to one of the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution to defendants in criminal proceedings. The right to a speedy trial, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, is intended to ensure that defendants are not subjected to unreasonably lengthy incarceration prior to a fair...
. The Schout was also required to "keep a strict account of all information taken by him and of all criminal trials, and regularly transmit reports to the Company's main offices in Holland." The Schout also has executive power to enforce the laws and rules of the States-General of the Netherlands
States-General of the Netherlands
The States-General of the Netherlands is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets in at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The archaic Dutch word "staten" originally related to the feudal classes in which medieval...
.
Patroon
Patroon
In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland in North America...
courts were first established in 1630. Patroons (from the Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
for owner or head of a company) were landholders with manorial rights
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
to large tracts of land in New Netherland in North America along the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. Through the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions
Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions
The Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, sometimes referred to as the Charter of Privileges and Exemptions, is a document written by the Dutch West India Company in an effort to settle its colony of New Netherland in North America through the establishment of feudal patroonships purchased and...
of 1629, the Dutch West India Company first started to grant this title and land to some of its invested members. These inducements to foster immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
were known as the "Rights and Exemptions," more commonly known as the patroon system. patroon acted as feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
lord
Lord
Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
s, with the power to create civil and criminal courts, appoint local officials and hold land in perpetuity, and in return was commissioned by the Dutch West India Company to establish a settlement of at least 50 families within four years on the land. The patroon exercised within his authority "unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction...even the power of life and death," subject to an appeal to the Governor.
When Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant , served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York...
became governor in 1647, he immediately established a Court of Justice with the broad jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
to decide "all cases whatsoever," with the directive to refer cases of any important to the governor for approval. Brooks writes that this scheme produced "popular discount," resulting in a "wrangle between the governor and the colonies, which brought about a number of trips to Holland, covered a number of years and abounded in dramatic incidents."
This led to the formation in 1653, of the The Worshipful Court of the Schout, Burgomasters and Schepens. This tribunal consisted of the Schout
Schout
In Dutch-speaking areas, a schout was a local official appointed to carry out administrative, law enforcement and prosecutorial tasks. The office was abolished with the introduction of administrative reforms during the Napoleonic period.- Functions:...
, four Burgomaster
Burgomaster
Burgomaster is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration...
s, and nine Schepen
Schepen
A schepen is a Dutch word referring to a municipal civic office in Dutch-speaking countries. The term is still in use in Belgium, but it has been replaced by wethouder in the Netherlands. The closest English terms are alderman, member of the municipal executive, councillor and magistrate,...
s. Like the Schout, the position of the Burgomaster and Schepen came from the Netherlands. The Burgomasters were administrators who rotated three-month terms "to attend at City Hall for the dispatch of public business." Schepens (aldermen
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
) were judicial officers with jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters. Together, the three orders of officers formed a college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
and enacted laws and ordinances for the city, analogous to the General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
. The body, collectively known as the Lords of the Court of the City of New Amsterdam, was headed either by a chosen president or the senior Burgomaster.
The court was held at least every two weeks and often every week; the parties
Party (law)
A party is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be identified as one for the purposes of the law. Parties include: plaintiff , defendant , petitioner , respondent , cross-complainant A party is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be...
before the court stated the case and the judges rendered a decision based on the facts or arbitrators
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
were appointed to review the case and proposed a compromise
Compromise
To compromise is to make a deal where one person gives up part of his or her demand.In arguments, compromise is a concept of finding agreement through communication, through a mutual acceptance of terms—often involving variations from an original goal or desire.Extremism is often considered as...
between the parties. Appeals to the court from the arbitrators' decisions were rare. In the case of a difference in how parties stated the facts, witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
es were called and affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
s presented or depositions
Deposition (law)
In the law of the United States, a deposition is the out-of-court oral testimony of a witness that is reduced to writing for later use in court or for discovery purposes. It is commonly used in litigation in the United States and Canada and is almost always conducted outside of court by the...
taken.
Province of New York
In 1664 the colony became part of British North AmericaBritish North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
as the Province of New York
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
, and New Amsterdam was named New York. The Court of Common Pleas was established in New York City in 1686 under the Dongan Charter, the early municipal
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
Charter of the City of New York, granted by Governor Thomas Dongan
Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick
Thomas Donegan, 2nd Earl of Limerick was a member of Irish Parliament, Royalist military officer during the English Civil War, and governor of the Province of New York...
on July 22, 1686. The Charter provided that the Mayor
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
, Recorder
Recorder of New York City
The Recorder of New York City was a municipal officer of New York City from 1683 until the early 20th century. He was at times a judge of the Court of General Sessions, of the Court of Special Sessions, and the New York Court of Common Pleas; Vice-President of the Board of Supervisors of New York...
, and Alderman, or any three of them given that either the Recorder or Mayor was one, were authorized to hold the Court of Common Pleas (Mayor's Court), which was presided over by the Mayor and Recorder alternately. An Act of 1691 created a Court of Common Pleas in each of New York's counties, which at the time numbered 12.
Judges and clerk
Court clerk
A court clerk is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining the records of a court. Another duty is to administer oaths to witnesses, jurors, and grand jurors...
s were appointed by the governor of New York and held office at his pleasure or during good behavior. The court's jurisdiction extended to all actions in which the amount in controversy
Amount in controversy
Amount in controversy is a term used in United States civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular court must be suing for a certain minimum amount before that court may hear the...
exceeded five English pounds
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
. After 1691, appeals to the decisions of the court went to the Supreme Court of the Province of New York, which heard appeals in which the amount involved exceeded 20 pounds. Brooks writes that the Court of Common Pleas was often known under the original Dutch title, even as late as 1821, and was called the Mayors' Court, with its criminal branch known as the New York Court of General Sessions.
New York City
The Mayor's Court was continued through the colonial periodThirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
, and records are uncertain as to whether the court was held during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. In early 1784, James Duane
James Duane
James Duane was an American lawyer, jurist, and Revolutionary leader from New York. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, New York state senator, Mayor of New York, and a U.S...
was appointed mayor of New York City
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
, and from that time after the Court was in continuing existence until its abolition. Under Duane, who served in the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
, notable figures including Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
, Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
, Robert Troup
Robert Troup
Robert Troup was an American soldier, lawyer and jurist.Born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, Troup attended King's College...
, Edward Livingston
Edward Livingston
Edward Livingston was an American jurist and statesman. He was an influential figure in the drafting of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825, a civil code based largely on the Napoleonic Code. He represented both New York, and later Louisiana in Congress and he served as the U.S...
, Henry Brockholst Livingston
Henry Brockholst Livingston
Henry Brockholst Livingston was an American Revolutionary War officer, a justice of the Supreme Court of New York and eventually an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States....
, Egbert Benson
Egbert Benson
Egbert Benson was a lawyer, jurist, politician from Upper Red Hook, New York, and a Founding Father of the United States who represented New York in the Continental Congress, Annapolis Convention, and the United States House of Representatives, and who served as a member of the New York State...
, Morgan Lewis
Morgan Lewis (governor)
Morgan Lewis was an American lawyer, politician and military commander.Of Welsh descent, he was the son of Francis Lewis, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He graduated from Princeton in 1773 and began to study law on the advice of his father...
, and Josiah Ogden Hoffman practiced before the Court. Duane presided until 1789, when the President George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
appointed him to the U.S. District Court for the District of New York.
When Maturin Livingston
Maturin Livingston
Maturin Livingston was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:He was the son of Robert James Livingston and Susanna Livingston...
was Recorder of New York City
Recorder of New York City
The Recorder of New York City was a municipal officer of New York City from 1683 until the early 20th century. He was at times a judge of the Court of General Sessions, of the Court of Special Sessions, and the New York Court of Common Pleas; Vice-President of the Board of Supervisors of New York...
, Mayor DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton was an early American politician and naturalist who served as United States Senator and the sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal...
ceased to preside in the Mayor's Court, and from that time on the Recorder sat as presiding judge. By 1821, the mayor had ceased to preside completely as the docket
Docket
Docket may refer to:*Docket , the official schedule of proceedings in lawsuits pending in a court of law. Term also includes a case identification number and reference point and case history for all case work involving a particular case....
had increased substantially in size. John Anthon, a prominent lawyer, wrote an act to change the name to the Court of Common Pleas of the City of New York, and to create the position of First Judge. The New York Legislature
New York Legislature
The New York State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York. The New York Constitution does not designate an official term for the two houses together...
passed the bill. Although the Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen still had the power to preside over the Court of Common Pleas, the First Judge was given special responsibility for the court and had the power to hold court himself without the Recorder or Mayor. John T. Irving was appointed First Judge. In 1834, an Associate Judge was provided, with all the powers of the First Judge. Michael Ulshoffer was appointed to the post. In 1839, a third judge was provided for due to an increase in the court's workload; William Inglis was appointed as Associate Judge.
Charles Patrick Daly
Charles Patrick Daly
Charles Patrick Daly was a member of the New York State Assembly, Chief Justice of the New York Court of Common Pleas, president of the American Geographical Society, and an author of several books.-Early years:...
served as a judge of the New York Court of Common Pleas 1844–1857, as First Judge 1857-1871, and as Chief Justice 1871-1885.
The Court of Common Pleas for the City of New York was abolished in 1895.