Criminal Court of the City of New York Forum

[Anonymous User]

What is the difference between interning with the Criminal Court of the City of New York and say a state supreme court judge in New York County?

Is it lackluster for a 2L summer compared to other government or NGO stuff?

[PublicInterest]

Criminal Court Judges are like the magistrate judges of the state criminal system. They preside over misdemeanors and felony cases before indictment (where not much happens). They also handle routine applications like search warrants and other miscelaneous orders. Most criminal court judges are assigned to a busy calendar part for weeks on end, presiding over dozens, if not over a hundred misdemeanors. Every once in a while they will issue written decisions on legal issues, but most of the work is done on the bench. As an intern they'd probably have you work on the written opinions. Some judges also preside over trials (jury and non-jury).

Supreme Court Judges are assigned to either Civil or Criminal. The criminal-side Supreme Court judges handle indicted felonies and have much lower case loads as a result. Some do have calendar parts, but they're generally only one day a week or so. Many more trials, hearings, and written decisions. Many do have complex, high-profile cases on their docket. Civil side, well, I'm not too sure exactly how things work over there.

Pro-tip: Many Criminal Court Judges are "acting Supreme," which means for all practical purposes they're supreme court judges. In fact, some of the best Supreme Court judges are just acting Supreme. The reasons for this are too complex to get into here.

[Anonymous User]

As long as its "respectable" enough for a 2L summer, assuming firm hustling and some other NGO stuff falls through, I'm happy. Is it actually something "good"? Will a firm frown on it when I apply for a job? Will I be able to argue that the legal skills I picked up over the summer are transferable to something outside of crim?

[Anonymous User]

bump