At a time when it’s already difficult for some towns and villages to find anyone interested in serving as a town or village judge, legislation in the state Legislature aims to require local judges be lawyers.

Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, D-New York City, recently introduced A.3801 in the Assembly to amend the Uniform Justice Court Act to establish minimum education requirements for town and village judges to be admitted to practice law in New York state. Similar legislation has been introduced in the past three legislative sessions.

“Currently, there are no educational requirements to serve as a local justice in New York state,” Zebrowski wrote in his legislative justification. “As the local judicial process becomes more complex and busy, it is important to ensure those who are serving in those positions have appropriate education. This bill allows municipalities the ability, by local law, to require that their justices be licensed attorneys. Many municipalities that have a high volume of court cases should be given the authority to increase the educational requirements.”

New York is one of eight states where town and village judges don’t have to be lawyers. Town and village courts hear civil cases in which claimants are seeking awards up to $3,000 and small claims proceedings for awards up to $3,000, landlord-tenant issues, criminal misdemeanor and violations that are alleged to have happened inside town or village boundaries, arraignments and preliminary hearings in felony cases and vehicle and traffic law cases. Town and village justices are required to be on-call 24 hours a day and are often called upon to arraign misdemeanor and felony charges as well as to act as Family Court judges when Family Court is not in session. In cases involving domestic violence, the judges are also authorized to issue orders of protection.

While town and village judges don’t have to be lawyers, they are required to take courses once they are elected to be a judge. New judges with no prior legal experience are required to take in-person training provided by lawyers and judges through the state Office of Justice Court Support. Judges take a test at the end of the session. Follow-up courses are also required.

Zebrowski’s legislation comes at a time when the towns of Mina and French Creek in Chautauqua County are working to consolidate their justice courts. French Creek officials have had a hard time finding someone to serve as town justice and has been contracting with a substitute justice who lives 25 miles away from French Creek.

Mina has a town justice who appears willing to serve for some time into the future, though when the office has been vacant in the past there has been little competition for the office.