In researching the history of the Appellate Division in the course of preparing my recent presentations on that subject (see Finding the Perfect Number, Part 1, NYLJ, August 27, 2019 and Finding the Perfect Number, Part 2, NYLJ, August 28), I discovered that by 1920, the caseload in the First Department, with more than 1,500 appeals and 840 motions decided, was considered so overwhelming that a proposal was made to have the court sit in two divisions. While I did not have comparable statistics for the other three departments, I thought it would be useful to contrast what was perceived in 1920 to be a crisis situation to the caseloads of the various departments today, almost 100 years later.

I reported that the First Department last year decided 2,641 full appeals, which is the correct (if not perfect) number. However, I erred ln an ensuing sentence when I used a different (and clearly imperfect number). I also erred in setting forth the number of motions decided in 2018; the correct number is 5,638 (l was off by over 900 motions). I regret the errors. The larger point remains. The Appellate Division of today is dealing with a volume of business that would have been unimaginable when the court was created in 1896.

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