New York City Courts - Family Court

Family Court

The New York City Family Court hears matters involving children and families. Its jurisdiction includes custody and visitation, support, concurrent jurisdiction with Criminal Court for family offenses (domestic violence), persons in need of supervision, delinquency, child protective proceedings (abuse and neglect), foster care approval and review, termination of parental rights, adoption and guardianship. Judges of the Family Court are appointed by the Mayor to 10 year terms.

Family Court does not have jurisdiction over divorces, which must be litigated in the Supreme Court. Further, although Criminal Court domestic violence parts typically hear all cases involving crimes against intimate partners (whether opposite- or same-sex), New York law defines family offenses to include only those related by blood, actual marriage (common law marriage is not recognized in New York), or a child in common.

Justice Jane Bolin became the first black female judge in the United States when Mayor Fiorello La Guardia swore her in to the bench of the Family Court, then called the Domestic Relations Court, in 1939. Her 10-year appointment was renewed by the city's mayors three times until she reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.