New York Laws
Article 2 - General Provisions Relating to Courts and Judges
8 - Emergency Relocations of Court Terms.

§ 8. Emergency relocations of court terms. 1. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, if an emergency or other exigent circumstance or
the imminent threat thereof prevents the safe and practicable holding of
a term of any court at the location designated by law therefor, then:

a. the governor, after consultation with the chief judge or his or her
designee if practicable, may by executive order appoint another location
for the temporary holding of such term if it is a term of a trial court;
or

b. where the governor has not acted pursuant to paragraph a of this
subdivision, or if it is a term of a court other than a trial court, the
chief judge or his or her designee (or the presiding justice of an
appellate division or his or her designee if it is a term of such
appellate division or of an appellate term established in the judicial
department served by such appellate division) may by order appoint
another location for the temporary holding of such term; except that,
where the court is a trial court, nothing in this paragraph shall
prevent the issuance of a superseding order pursuant to paragraph a of
this subdivision.

2. To the extent practicable, an order pursuant to subdivision one of
this section:

a. shall designate the most proximate location in which such term of
court safely and practicably can be held, without limitation based on
the judicial department, judicial district, county, city, town, village
or other geographical district for which such court was established;

b. shall be made in conformance with state and local disaster
preparedness plans governing the continued effective operation of the
civil and criminal justice systems pursuant to sections twenty-two and
twenty-three of the executive law; and

c. for a trial court other than the court of claims, shall be made
after consultation with the chief executive officer of the county, city,
town or village for which such court was established and the chief
executive officer of the corresponding county, city, town or village to
which the term of such court temporarily would be relocated, or their
designees.

3. An order pursuant to subdivision one of this section shall be
effective for no more than thirty days and may be reauthorized for
successive periods of no more than thirty days each in like fashion as
an original order. As soon as practicable, such order shall be filed
with the office of court administration and the office of the clerk of
each county affected thereby, and shall be publicized by the best means
practicable and for such duration as such order shall provide.

4. Every term of court subject to an order pursuant to subdivision one
of this section shall, for the duration of such order, continue to
preside for the original judicial department, judicial district, county,
city, town, village or other geographical district for which such court
was established, and every action and proceeding in such term shall be
subject to the same substantive and procedural law as would have applied
had such term not been temporarily relocated.

5. Notwithstanding any other provision of section thirty-nine of this
article, if an order pursuant to subdivision one of this section shall
temporarily relocate a term of court outside the county, city, town or
village for which such court was established, then the costs of
temporarily providing facilities suitable and sufficient for the
transaction of business of such court outside such county, city, town or
village shall be charges upon the office of court administration.

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