The Text

The court of appeals is continued. It shall consist of the chief judge and associate judges now in office, who shall hold their offices until the expiration of their respective terms, and their successors, who shall be chosen by the electors of the state, and of the three justices of the supreme court now serving as associate judges of the court of appeals by designation by the governor, who shall be associate judges of the court of appeals until the expiration of the terms for which they respectively were elected justices of the supreme court, and their successors who shall be chosen by the electors of the state. The official terms of the chief judge and associate judges shall be fourteen years from and including the first day of January next after’ their election. No more than seven judges shall sit in any case. Five members of the court shall constitute a quorum, and the concurrence of four shall be necessary to a decision. The court shall have power to appoint and to remove its reporter, clerk and attendants. In case of the temporary absence or inability to act of any judge of the court of appeals, the court may designate any justice of the supreme court to serve as associate judge of the court of appeals, during such absence or inability to act, but for a period not exceeding four months in any year. For the purpose of disposing with reasonable speed of the accumulation of causes now pending in the court of appeals, the court on or before the first day of March, one thousand nine hundred and sixteen, shall designate not less than four nor more than six justices of the supreme court to serve as associate judges of the court of appeals until the causes pending on the calendar shall be reduced to one hundred but not later than the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred and seventeen, when they shall return to the supreme court. While serving in the court of appeals, the justices so designated shall be relieved of their duties as justices of the supreme court. During such period the court of appeals shall sit in two parts, each of which shall consist of not more than seven judges, five of whom shall constitute a quorum, the concurrence of four being necessary to a decision. The chief judge shall from time to time designate the associate judges of the court of appeals and the justices of the supreme court serving as associate judges of the court of appeals to sit in the respective parts of the court, in such manner that the justices of the supreme court so designated shall be distributed as equally as may be between the two parts. The chief judge may preside in either part, and he shall designate the judge who shall preside in either part when he is not present. The causes pending in the court of appeals shall be distributed by the chief judge as nearly equally as may be between the two parts of the court. The court of appeals shall cause a calendar of appeals pending therein to be made and published at least once in each year. Whenever on the first day of January in any year after the present accumulation of causes in the court of appeals shall have been disposed of as above provided, there shall be more than five hundred causes pending undisposed of on the calendar, the court shall in the manner above provided designate justices of the supreme court to serve as associate judges of the court of appeals, and shall sit in two parts; the pending causes shall be distributed between the parts for disposition until the number of causes pending on the calendar shall be reduced to one hundred, but not later than until the expiration of one year from the date of such designations, whereupon the justices so designated shall return to the supreme court.
In case of the death, resignation or other disability of any of the justices of the supreme court designated to serve as associate judges of the court of appeals as in this article provided, the court of appeals shall designate a justice of the supreme court to serve in his place in like manner as if originally so designated. Each of the justices of the supreme court while serving as associate judge of the court of appeals as herein provided shall receive from the state the same compensation as the elected associate judges of the court of appeals. Upon the termination of the designation of a justice of the supreme court as associate judge of the court of appeals who when so designated was a justice of an appellate division, he shall return to such appellate division unless the term of his designation thereto shall have expired and shall not have been renewed by the governor. The appellate division may designate other justices of the supreme court to sit in the appellate division during the absence of regularly assigned justices of such division serving as associate judges of the court of appeals, in case the business of the appellate division shall render such action necessary.