Hidden Justice: An Ethnographic Exploration of the Delivery of Justice in New York’s Local Courts

• In Event: Legal Services for the Indigent: Defense and Local Legal Culture

Abstract

In the 57 upstate New York counties, there is a large population that resides in rural and suburban districts rather than in cities. New York is one of 22 states that uses local courts that are typically presided over by non-attorney justices. Currently, there are almost 1300 justice courts and 75% of the magistrates do not have a law education. Unfortunately, not much research has been conducted on these courts and prior literature has focused on urban courts with larger and more diverse caseloads. To combat this limitation, a multi-site ethnographic investigation was conducted to examine the justice processes in these hidden local courts.

Author

• Alyssa M. Clark, New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services