Voters picked 11 countywide Civil Court judges. Where they end up serving is up to the courts, which a Council member has questioned

Voters elected 11 judges to countywide seats on the city's Civil Court on Tuesday, according to amNY's rundown of the Board of Elections' unofficial results. Democrats won every countywide seat except Staten Island's, where Republican Glenn Yost beat Democrat Tashanna Golden 59.1% to 40.8%.

Why it matters to residents: the Civil Court hears the cases many New Yorkers are most likely to face, from consumer debt and small claims to landlord-tenant disputes and illegal lockouts. Judges serve 10-year terms. But a judge elected to Civil Court doesn't always stay there. Court administrators can assign them to Criminal Court or Family Court, sometimes in another borough, which is a concern one Council member has raised on the record.

Who won

From the Board of Elections' countywide results, as summarized by amNY:

• Manhattan (three seats, no opponents): Emily Morales-Minerva, Josh Hanshaft and Vlad Frants. Morales-Minerva and Hanshaft were re-elected.
• Brooklyn (four seats, no opponents): Danielle Noel, Linda Lo Cascio, Celeste Felix and Christine Ortiz.
• Queens (three seats, contested): Democrats Julie Milner, Edmond Wong and Jasmine Valle-Bueno won. Republicans Thomas Barra and Michael Mossa trailed with about 10% and 9%.
• Staten Island (one seat): Yost, with 78,100 votes to Golden's 53,927.
• The Bronx had no countywide Civil Court seat on the ballot this year.

Voters also filled 17 Civil Court seats elected by smaller municipal court districts across the five boroughs.

amNY reported that a judicial accountability group has criticized Hanshaft's record on bail and sentencing after he was moved to Criminal Court following his first Civil Court election. Morales-Minerva was not approved by the New York City Bar Association, amNY reported, and was reassigned to Bronx Family Court after her first election before returning to Manhattan Civil Court.

What our records add

A Council member has questioned the assignment system. At the Criminal Justice Committee's June 25 hearing on court delays and the jail population, Council Member Frank Morano told the state's chief administrative judge that Staten Islanders and Manhattanites share an objection: a judge elected to Civil Court in one borough can end up hearing criminal cases in another. Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas answered that the courts give weight to criminal law experience in those assignments, but have to fill criminal parts when there aren't enough experienced lower court judges. He cited a recently elected Staten Island Civil Court judge with a criminal defense background who was assigned to Criminal Court for that reason (43:45).

Morano wants to open the bench to non-lawyers. Res. 107, from Morano with Farah N. Louis, calls on Albany to remove the rule that city court judges be lawyers for at least five years, and to change the Civil Court Act so that qualified non-attorneys could be elected to Civil Court. It has been in the Criminal Justice Committee since Jan. 29, 280 days, without a hearing.

The Council funds the lawyers, not the judges. Civil Court judges are part of the state court system, so the Council has no say over their pay, assignments or discipline. Members still raise court delays with city officials. At the Housing and Buildings Committee's Sept. 9 hearing, a member relayed owners' complaints that nonpayment cases in housing court can wait months for a judge while unpaid rent piles up. An administration official said the city was working with the state's Office of Court Administration and the city's Office of Civil Justice, which runs free legal help for tenants, on ways to resolve cases earlier, but had nothing specific to announce (2:33:47).

What's next

• The Board of Elections certifies the judicial results after counting the remaining ballots.
• New judges' terms begin Jan. 1, and the state court system decides where each one sits.
• Res. 107 would need a Criminal Justice Committee hearing before any vote.