State Bureaucracy

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State Bureaucracy the Courts

• Dr. Joseph Stefko
• Department of Political Science
• University at Buffalo, SUNY
• Fall 2006

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What is the bureaucracy?

• Public agencies and their programs
• Bureaucrats
• Usually under control of the governor

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Bureaucracy

• Specific set of characteristics
• Division of Labor
• Hierarchy
• Formal Rules
• Professionalization

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Bureaucracy as implementer

• It does what the govt wants/needs done
• Policy implementation
• How agencies implement policy
• Bureaucrats are the face of govt services
• Biggest component are schools

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Bureaucracy as policymaker

• Bureaucracies act as policymakers in at least
  three different ways
• Street-level bureaucrat
• Rulemaking
• Politics

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What is enough bureaucracy?

• States/localities do have a lot of bureaucracy
• Size/involvement of bureaucracies differ for two
  main reasons
• Different demands on govt
• No universal measure

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(see overheads)
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What do we get for the money?

• Governing Performance Project (GPP) at Syracuses
  Maxwell School
• Ranks management practices in five areas
• Finance
• Capital projects
• HR
• Managing for results
• IT

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(see overheads)
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Bureaucracy in NYS

• The states largest employer
• Over 200,000 employees
• Largest concentration based in Albany
• Civil Service Commission created in 1883
• Employee-related issues

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The Taylor Law

• Fundamental law covering public sector workers in
  NYS
• History of the law
• The Taylor Committee
• Amendments to Civil Service Law (1967)

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The Taylor Law (cont.)

• Public Employees Fair Employment Act
• (1) Grants employees the right to be represented
  by unions
• (2) Requires employers to negotiate agreements
  with those unions
• (3) Prohibits strikes by public employees

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The Taylor Law (cont.)

• Provides mechanism for resolving negotiating
  impasses
• Controversy, and the Triborough Amendment
• Continuing contracts in perpetuity after they
  expire

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State Courts

• Two basic types
• Criminal
• Civil
• Cases proceed from trial courts to appeal courts
• State high courts have ultimate power to
  interpret state constitutions

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State Trial Courts

• Approx 100 million cases filed each year
• 2/3 are traffic offenses
• Most cases get plea bargained or settled before
  trial

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State Appeals Courts

• When one party to a trial is dissatisfied with
  the outcome
• Appeals must claim legal errors were made in the
  original trial
• Large variety of approaches across the states

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(see overheads)
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Appeals Courts

• Not every state has an intermediate appeal level
• Huge case volume makes it difficult to have only
  one level of appeals court
• High courts typically focus on cases where the
  decision/opinion is likely to have
  broader-ranging impact

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How judges are selected

• By election (partisan vs. nonpartisan)
• By appointment
• The argument for electing judges
• The argument against electing judges

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How judges are selected

• Appointive systems
• Pure appointive
• Merit selection (nominating committee)

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Judges terms of service

• (see overhead)
• Balance btwn independence, accountability
• Most state judges have fixed terms
• NYS has relatively long judicial terms

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Courts in NYS

• Article VI of constitution
• National model
• Court of Appeals created in 1846
• 7 judges w/ 14 year terms
• Governor appoints, w/ Senate confirming
• Commission nominates candidates
• Mandatory retirement age in NYS is 70

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Courts in NYS

• Complex patchwork quilt
• Unified Court System
• Court of Appeals
• Appellate Division of State Supreme Court
• County Court
• Local Court

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Courts in NYS

• Other state-level courts
• State Supreme Court
• Court of Claims
• Family Court
• Surrogates Court

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Appellate Courts in NYS

• Appellate Division of State Supreme Court
• Intermediate appellate court, just below COA
• Judges designated by governor w/o consent of
  Senate (selected from among current State Supreme
  Court judges)
• Court of Appeals
• Court of last resort
• Administers statewide judicial standards
• Hears a relatively small caseload

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(see overhead)