New York Constitution - Constitutional Convention 1846

Constitutional Convention 1846

The delegates convened at Albany on June 1, 1846, and adjourned on October 9. The new Constitution was put before the voters at the next state election in November and was adopted. Yes: 221,528 votes, No: 92,436 votes.

John Tracy presided. George W. Patterson, Ambrose L. Jordan, Charles H. Ruggles, David R. Floyd-Jones, Charles O'Conor, Samuel J. Tilden, Levi S. Chatfield, William B. Wright, Michael Hoffman and William C. Bouck were among the delegates.

The changes in this version of the constitution were:

• The Court of Chancery and the Court for the Correction of Errors were abolished. Jurisdiction on equity was transferred to the New York Supreme Court, jurisdiction on appeal to the New York Court of Appeals.
• The New York State Circuit Courts were abolished, and replaced by the district benches of the New York Supreme Court.
• The New York Court of Appeals was established in July 1847, consisting of four statewide elected judges and four justices chosen annually from the New York Supreme Court.
• The state cabinet officers (Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer and State Engineer) who had been chosen by joint ballot of the Legislature, were now elected by the voters at the state elections in odd years. The incumbents were legislated out of office on December 31, 1847. The successors were elected at the state election in November and took office on January 1, 1848. From 1848 on, the state officers served a two-year term, one year in the second half of the term of the incumbent governor, the other year in the first half of the term of the succeeding governor.