State Senate bill would create separate Onondaga County judicial district

Onondaga County could be pulled out of the 5th Judicial District, a change that would redraw how Supreme Court judges are assigned in Syracuse and could affect how quickly local cases move through court. Introduced June 9, 2025, and passed by the state Senate on June 12, 2025, S.8418/A.8883 was later pocket-vetoed by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Feb. 9, 2026.

The bill, sponsored in the Senate by Michael Gianaris, would create a 14th Judicial District for Onondaga County and a separate 15th Judicial District for several rural counties now spread across the 5th, 7th and 8th districts. In practical terms, that would split off one of Central New York’s busiest court hubs from a larger regional system that currently reaches from Syracuse to Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida and Oswego counties.

That matters because the 5th Judicial District is already a high-volume operation. New York courts describe the state system as one of the busiest in the nation, and the district is administered from Syracuse by District Administrative Judge Deborah H. Karalunas. Onondaga Supreme and County Court judges listed by the courts include Karalunas and several other justices, showing how much of the district’s work already runs through Onondaga County.

Supporters of the redistricting push argued that the current map ties urban counties like Onondaga to much larger rural regions in ways that can weaken representation. The sponsor memo said the proposal was modeled on Chapter 690 of the Laws of 2007, which created the 13th Judicial District in Richmond County, and legislative materials said the Legislature has constitutional authority to adjust judicial districts once every 10 years. The broader redistricting package also would have made Erie County and Monroe County stand-alone districts while reshaping surrounding rural counties, and bill trackers said the plan would have reapportioned Supreme Court justices among the new districts.

The New York State Bar Association urged lawmakers not to move ahead without a closer study of which districts would be affected, how many judges each district should have, what the caseloads show and what the change would cost the state and municipalities. For Onondaga County residents, the unresolved question is whether a separate district would mean shorter waits, better access and a court system that feels closer to home, or whether it would add cost, confusion and another layer of bureaucracy before tenants, families and defendants ever reach a courtroom.