NYS Court Officers

[TruGuardian]

Hey,

What was your score on the exam?

Can't recall at the moment,misplaced my result notice.... cud' it be retrieve on-line?

[Cravan]

Can't recall at the moment,misplaced my result notice.... cud' it be retrieve on-line?

I am not sure. You can probably get it from OCA. Give them a call.

[unblindeacon]

I hope no one gets laid off. It is not fun being unemployed. I am currently unemployed, because of the postponement of the January 6, 2011 class. Please keep me informed about what happens. Good luck.

I Feel really bad for you....what they did wasn't right....as far as i heard all those supposed to enter jan 6 will be offered a position...but if 50 of us already on get laid off obviously your in for a longer wait...I will find out for sure next week and I will post for now Im just going to enjoy the weekend

[Cravan]

I Feel really bad for you....what they did wasn't right....as far as i heard all those supposed to enter jan 6 will be offered a position...but if 50 of us already on get laid off obviously your in for a longer wait...I will find out for sure next week and I will post for now Im just going to enjoy the weekend

Thanks for the empathy. OCA did tell us that when they reschedule a next recruit class, we will get called back. In a way, I am glad that the Jan 6 class did not go in because we would of gotten laid off right after the academy. I only wish OCA would have let us know before we quit our jobs. I do not understand how OCA can layoff court officers if they are short 390. Anyhow, have a GREAT weekend and let's pray no one gets laid off.

[Monkeyboy49]

Wow...that's tuff. I took the exam in Dec./09, I'm in the 42XX range. I think I selected like 6-or 8 counties, it wud' be nice if they call me within the next 2 yrs.

Im in the same boat as you, TruGuardian ... I took the test Oct. 09 and I'm ranked 42XX ... I picked 6 JD's ... hopefully we will get a shot at this ...

[Mtn29]

*scroll down the "security worries"

NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - As hundreds of New York state court employees brace for a wave of layoffs this week, court administrators warn that efforts to meet $170 million in budget cuts will increase delays, strain dockets and frustrate citizens.

The courts have canceled overtime except in extraordinary circumstances, forcing judges to end court sessions promptly at 4:30 p.m. Next month, weekend arraignment hours will be reduced, raising questions as to whether New York City -- already burdened by approximately 1 million criminal cases annually -- will be able to process arrested defendants within 24 hours as constitutionally required. And a program that uses retired judges to dispose of cases has been essentially eliminated.

On Wednesday, the Office of Court Administration, which manages the court system, will announce a layoff plan in which 350 non-judicial employees are expected to lose their jobs effective June 1. Some 74 OCA staffers already learned their fate in April, the first layoffs in 20 years for the courts.

The OCA will also demote or reassign approximately 250 employees, Judge Lawrence Marks, the administrative director of the OCA, said.

"It would be very surprising if there were no impact from this," Marks said. "It's something that we'll monitor very closely."

The layoffs follow last fall's early retirement buyouts, when the courts shed more than 1,500 employees in a cost-cutting move. The courts replaced more than half of them with less experienced and lower-paid workers before imposing a hiring freeze in January.

Marks said he was confident the system could absorb the buyouts without adversely affecting operations. But he acknowledged he can't say the same about the latest round of austerity measures, put in place as part of the state's bid to close a $10 billion budget gap for 2011.

"Our original plan has been sidetracked to a large extent," Marks said. "On the other hand, if we hadn't participated in the early retirement program, we would be looking at a lot more layoffs today."



FIRST CUT TOO SMALL, CUOMO SAYS

The judiciary's initial $2.7 billion budget drew criticism from Gov. Cuomo, who decreed that all state agencies must reduce spending by 10 percent and called on the courts to do likewise. The state's chief judge, Jonathan Lippmann, offered to slash $100 million, but Cuomo and the state legislature eventually settled on a total of $170 million in cuts - just over 6 percent of the courts' original proposal.

"Every local government, every entity of the state, is having to adjust to our shared new fiscal reality," said Cuomo's budget spokesman, Morris Peters. "This is the same as every small-business owner and every household and everybody else. It's a new world."

The cuts also include the near-elimination of the judicial hearing officer program, in which retired judges receive a daily rate of $300 to hear cases and reduce the backlog. Last year's roster of approximately 300 JHOs has been whittled to 25 or so, Marks said.

The system is also calling fewer jurors and cutting back on sequestered lunches for those it does call. The budget for legal reference books has been deeply slashed.

"Everything is a double-edged sword," said David Bookstaver, spokesman for the Office of Court Administration. "These cuts are going to have an impact on, not the quality, but maybe the speed that things move."



SHAVING ARRAIGNMENT HOURS

Perhaps the most noteworthy change to court operations is the decision to shave weekend arraignment hours in order to save overtime costs, particularly in Manhattan and Brooklyn, which handle the vast majority of the city's arraignments.

Rather than court sessions from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m., arraignments will now have to fit into a smaller window, from noon or 1 p.m. until 9:30 or 10:30 p.m.

"The arrest-to-arraignment issue is on our radar now," said Judge Barry Kamins, the administrative judge for criminal matters in Brooklyn. "The defense bar will be watching it closely. I think the entire legal community is watching this closely. No one knows what the effect will be."

His Manhattan counterpart, Judge Michael Obus, said he faces difficult choices at the end of the day, when judges' clerks begin calling to request permission to keep court in session past 4:30. In the past, he said, overtime requests were granted routinely, if a judge wanted to allow a witness to finish his or her testimony or a jury to conclude its deliberations.

"All the non-judicial personnel are already feeling the situation adversely," he said. "The layoffs are yet to happen, but they are feeling the effects of trying to get everything done without getting overtime."

Union leaders, unsurprisingly, have expressed concern about the staff reductions, saying that delays are inevitable.

"The lines are there," said Rocco DeSantis, the president of the New York State Court Clerks Association, which represents more than 1,700 clerks in New York City. "The lawyers are complaining. We can only do so much in seven hours."



SECURITY WORRIES

Dennis Quirk, the head of the New York Court Officers Association, said the reduction in court officers would compromise courtroom security.

"We're already in a very precarious position, where someone's going to get hurt," he said. Two weeks ago, he pointed out, a prisoner refused to return to a holding pen and resisted when officers tried to control him, sending four officers to the hospital with minor injuries.

Quirk also said administrators would find that some courts would be delayed or closed because of a lack of officers.

Bookstaver said the courts replaced 190 of the 262 court officers who accepted early retirement last year with less experienced -- and therefore less expensive -- officers. In addition, seventy-one officers were converted to clerks.

"It poses a challenge for us," he said of the reduction in court officers. "It doesn't mean we don't take court security seriously. I don't think there's any reason to indicate courthouses are less safe."

It is too early to tell precisely how -- and how deeply -- the budget cuts will impact operations, Marks said. But administrators say the successive rounds of cost-cutting will have unavoidable consequences.

"I just think it's a cumulative effect," Kamins said. "We're dealing with uncharted territory."

(Reporting by Joseph Ax)

[MP1212]

Hey so I have the physical Monday and I'm very nervous. Was wondering if anyone can answer something for me. For the stamina test, I know its 5 min on 13" high step for females but how fast is it? Also do they let you switch off legs? And are you allowed to drink water after or you just get to sit? How does this work? If anyone has any tips on any other part I would be grateful. Also, I was told to bring plenty of water and snacks. About how long is the process and are there breaks in between parts or do they throw you from one thing to the next? Thanks in advance!

[Kannons610]

I think its about 80 beats per minute. You can switch legs as long as you do it while on the floor. Ex. Left Leg Up, Right Leg Up, Left Leg Down, Then Right Leg Down. Now that both feet are on the floor if you want to go up with your right first you can. What you can't do is go up with your left leg first and come down with your right leg first. You can bring your water or drink into the testing room with you and you can drink whenever you want. You can also use the water fountain whenever you want. You do move from exercise to exercise pretty quickly. There is some rest in between some exercises, it just depends on how many people are waiting. The good thing is that you generally do keep the same order. If you go first on the bike you get to rest while everyone else in your group goes. Then you will most likely go first on the next exercise. Overall, I would say the entire test took me about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. You will be there longer because there is a lot of paperwork to fill out before the fitness test begins. Hope this helps.

[Retriever]

Court layoffs largely spare Capital Region (updated)

http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/67802/court-layoffs-largely-spare-capital-region/

acing an imposed budget cut, the state’s unified court system today announced plans to lay off 367 workers around New York. Most of them are focused in New York City.

There are 11 layoffs in the 3rd Judicial Districts, which contains Sullivan, Ulster, Greene, Columbia, Rensselaer, Albany, and Schoharie counties. There are 6 layoffs in the 4th district, which covers Saratoga, Montgomery, Schenectady, Fulton, Washington, Warren, Hamilton, Essex, Clinton, Franklin, and St. Lawrence counties.

CSEA President Danny Donohue issued a statement blaming Cuomo.

“Today’s layoff and displacement notices to more than 600 employees of the New York State Unified Court System are a direct consequence of bad choices in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s state budget. The excessive cuts will undermine our court system and cost New Yorkers a lot more in the long run but first they will wreak havoc on the lives of hundreds of dedicated people and their families. No good can come from that.

No one should believe this is a necessary action – a state budget that relied on cuts alone while giving tax breaks to millionaires is out of whack with good management.”

Here’s a sheet showing the eliminations:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/55737463/Court-Layoffs

[workingon]

Does anyone know if they re-weigh you at the Physical Ability test ? Just wondering how strict with diet I have to be .

[Cravan]

Does anyone know if they re-weigh you at the Physical Ability test ? Just wondering how strict with diet I have to be .

I do not think so.

[Cravan]

New York courts lay off 367 workers, warn of delays

5/18/2011 COMMENTS (0)

NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) - The state court system laid off 367 employees Wednesday, the latest in a series of cost-cutting moves expected to increase delays throughout the judiciary.

An additional 241 workers were either demoted or transferred, according to the Office of Court Administration, which released the numbers at 3:30 p.m.

Along with 74 administrative employees let go earlier this month, the layoffs are the system's first in two decades, part of a broader effort to find $170 million worth of budget reductions imposed by the state. Wednesday's cutbacks, which have been anticipated, take effect June 1.

Every court across the state will be affected, from New York City Criminal Court to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals. Among the courts that will lose the most workers: Kings County Supreme Court in Brooklyn, which loses 32 employees; the 9th Judicial District in Westchester County and its neighboring counties, which loses 38; and the 10th Judicial District in Nassau County, which loses 30.

The layoffs claimed non-judicial staffers in virtually every capacity, including court officers, clerks, stenographers, interpreters and attorneys.

"We're always saying we're like the E.R., we take all these cases," said Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau. "We're just going to have to start triaging."

Court administrators have said the layoffs, coupled with an array of other budget cuts that have slashed programs and reduced courtroom hours, will likely cause backups throughout the judiciary system.

"Particularly how long it takes for cases to go to trial, how long trials and hearings take -- that's what we'll be looking at carefully," said Judge Lawrence Marks, the administrative director of the OCA. "It's really impossible to predict what the effects will be."

At least one union hopes to offer concessions in order to save its employees' jobs. Dennis Quirk, the head of the New York Court Officers Association, said he has proposed working with other court officers' unions to waive $900,000 in dental and vision benefits contributions in exchange for preserving 30 positions.

In a statement, the state's chief judge, Jonathan Lippmann, vowed to "work in good faith" with the unions and state government to evaluate ways to save money and rehire some employees.

"After four decades in the courts, I very much view our employees as part of a court system family that is close-knit and supportive of each other in every conceivable way," he said. "My heart goes out to every one of the valued employees and their own families who will be experiencing real hardship and pain as a result of today's layoffs."

CLOSING THE GAP

The $170 million in cuts stemmed from the state's efforts to close a $10 billion budget gap. The judiciary's initial $2.7 billion budget drew criticism from Gov. Cuomo, who ordered state agencies to cut 10 percent from their spending and called on the courts to do the same. Lippmann offered to slice $100 million, but Cuomo and the legislature eventually agreed on an additional $70 million in reductions.

Stephen Madarasz, the spokesman for the Civil Service Employees Association, which represents more than half of the courts' 15,000 workers, faulted Cuomo for the cuts.

"No one should have any illusions that the fallout from Cuomo's budget is real people will be hurt and services will suffer," he said. "The real issue here is the governor would like to keep patting himself on the back for an on-time budget but ignore the consequence of what that budget entails."

Cuomo's budget spokesman, Morris Peters, said this week that the courts were only asked to do what everyone else has done.

"Every local government, every entity of the state, is having to adjust to our shared new fiscal reality," Peter said. "This is the same as every small-business owner and every household and everybody else. It's a new world."

Wednesday's layoffs follow last year's voluntary early retirement program, when the courts lost more than 1,500 employees. The judiciary replaced slightly more than half of them with lower-paid, less experienced workers before imposing a hiring freeze in January under continued budgetary pressure.

Marks said the court system will have 1,150 fewer employees in June than it did last August.

In addition to the layoffs, the judiciary has taken steps to reduce overtime costs, most notably the decision to reduce weekend arraignment hours in New York City starting in June. Administrators say that this change could threaten the system's ability to meet a constitutional mandate to arraign defendants within 24 hours of their arrest.

Court sessions now end promptly at 4:30 p.m., rather than 5 p.m., and overtime requests from judges are no longer routinely granted. The courts have also eliminated all but a handful of judicial hearing officers -- retired judges who were paid $300 a day to hear cases -- saving approximately $5 million but increasing the chances that the backlog will swell.

Other changes include fewer lunches for jurors and cutting back on the purchase of legal reference books.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax)

[Mtn29]

hey R,

thats very informative. i assume "term" means "terminated"?? whats your thoughts? if thats the case I do not see too many officers terminated. but many have been reassigned. how did you read it?

good luck to everyone next week, going in for your PATS.

thoughts and prayers to all current CO's on the job.

[MP1212]

My brother's fiance was laid off. She was a court reporter. Sucks. I have my physical Monday and I feel like whats the point? They'll probably close my list by the time they start hiring again.

[Cravan]

hey R,

thats very informative. i assume "term" means "terminated"?? whats your thoughts? if thats the case I do not see too many officers terminated. but many have been reassigned. how did you read it?

good luck to everyone next week, going in for your PATS.

thoughts and prayers to all current CO's on the job.

Hey,

I was watching NY1 today and they stated that 29 court officers were laid off. The good thing is that the unions have worked out a deal with OCA to restore all 29 of the court officer's jobs. God bless the unions!!! I am very sorry to hear that all other court employees will not be able to get their jobs back!!!