Why Is New York So Backward?

It seems we picked a state that's almost completely backward. If any of you have watched an episode of Law & Order and wondered why a criminal case would start out in the New York Supreme Court the answer is simple: We're hopeless backward. In most states, the state supreme court is the highest court in the state. Not so in New York, where the Supreme Court is the lowest court in the land. The highest court in the state is actually the New York Court of Appeals (with the Supreme Court Appelate Division being the intermediary court).

Furthermore, in most states members of the supreme court are called justices whereas members of all other courts are called judges. In New York, members of the New York Court of Appeals are called judges. Members in all other courts are called Justices. I thought I'd post this just in case anyone might think that I made a mistake using the title "justice" when referring to Justice Carlin.