courts

During the housing crisis a decade ago, an estimated one-third of civil filings in New York State Supreme Court were foreclosures. "It was huge numbers," remembers the Hon. Paula Feroleto, "so the court had to adapt how cases were treated." Today issues like the opioids crisis, jailing people with mental illness and Buffalo's influx of refugees are requiring new thinking. As Administrative Judge of the Eighth Judicial District, Feroleto's role is to supervise all 95 judges and 850 employees in Western New York's 22 courts while preserving justice for all.

Every day, an increasing number of new Americans from nations, geographic areas, and language groups walk into the court buildings in downtown Buffalo and come to grips with the legal system. Often, they are from countries with no functioning legal system or one which they say can't be trusted.

Increasingly, the people coming into our courts reflect the changing face of America and of Western New York. They include people from across the world, some of whom speak languages which don't even exist in a written form but are in our community and in our schools.