The Text

The supreme court is continued with general jurisdiction in law and equity, subject to such appellate jurisdiction of the court of appeals as now is or hereafter may be prescribed by law not inconsistent with this article. The judicial districts of the state shall be ten in number, each district to be bounded by county lines. The first district shall consist of the counties of New York and Bronx. The second district shall consist of the counties of Kings, Queens and Richmond. The third district shall consist of the counties of Schoharie, Albany, Rensselaer, Columbia, Greene, Ulster and Sullivan. The fourth district shall consist of the counties of Saint Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton, Essex, Hamilton, Warren, Fulton, Saratoga, Washington, Montgomery and Schenectady. The fifth district shall consist of the counties of Jefferson, Lewis, Herkimer, Oswego, Oneida and Onondaga. The sixth district shall consist of the counties of Madison, Otsego, Delaware, Chenango, Broome, Cortland, Tioga, Tompkins, Chemung and Schuyler. The seventh district shall consist of the counties of Cayuga, Seneca, Wayne, Ontario, Yates, Monroe, Livingston and Steuben. The eighth district shall consist of the counties of Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Erie, Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua. The ninth district shall consist of the counties of Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland and Orange. The tenth district shall consist of the counties of Nassau and Suffolk; but such counties shall continue to be a part of the second judicial department until changed as provided in section two of this article. The supreme court shall consist of the justices now in office and their successors, together with such additional justices as may be authorized by law. The successors of the justices shall be chosen by the electors of their respective judicial districts. The legislature may alter the judicial districts and increase or diminish their number, by two-thirds vote of each house, once after every census or enumeration, federal or state, each district being bounded by county lines. Upon any change in judicial districts, the legislature may thereafter reapportion the justices elected in the districts altered.
The legislature may from time to time increase the number of justices in any judicial district, except that the number of justices in any district shall not be increased to exceed one justice for each sixty thousand, or fraction over thirty-five thousand, of the population thereof as shown by the last previous census or enumeration, federal or state. Any justice of the supreme court, except as otherwise provided in this article, may perform the duties of his office or hold court in any county.