A referee to determine an issue or to perform an act shall have all the powers of a court in performing a like function; but he shall have no power to relieve himself of his duties, to appoint a successor or to adjudge any person except a witness before him guilty of contempt. For the purposes of this article, the term referee shall be deemed to include judicial hearing officer.
§ 4301.Powers of referee to determine.
Article 43. Trial by a Referee · Last amended 1983 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceOnce a court hands an issue to a referee, the referee steps into the court's shoes for that job, wielding full judicial power but for the right to quit, name a replacement, or punish anyone but a witness for contempt.
Full Text of CPLR 4301
Plain-English Summary
When a court refers an issue to a referee or hands the referee a specific act to perform, CPLR 4301 gives that referee the same power a judge would have doing the same job. The referee can rule on evidence, decide credibility, and resolve the issue the same way a judge presiding at trial would. That authority runs only as far as the assignment goes; a referee still answers to the order of reference that created the job.
The rule draws three hard lines around that power. A referee cannot walk away from the assignment once accepted, cannot pick a successor if unable to finish it, and cannot hold anyone in contempt except a witness who misbehaves before the referee. Those limits reflect the referee's derivative role: the authority comes from the court, and only the court can excuse a referee, replace one, or punish a party for contempt. The section also folds in judicial hearing officers, so wherever this article says referee, it also means a JHO.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a referee have the same power as a judge in New York?
Within the scope of the order of reference, yes. CPLR 4301 gives a referee assigned to determine an issue or perform an act the same powers a court would have doing that job.
Can a referee hold a party in contempt?
No. CPLR 4301 lets a referee hold only a misbehaving witness in contempt, not a party or attorney.
Can a referee quit in the middle of an assignment?
Not on the referee's own say-so. CPLR 4301 bars a referee from relieving himself of his duties or naming his own successor; only the court can do that.
Does CPLR 4301 apply to judicial hearing officers?
Yes. The statute defines referee to include a judicial hearing officer, so a JHO exercises the same powers under this article.
Where does a referee's power come from?
From the order of reference. CPLR 4301 gives the referee court-level power to do the assigned job, but the order itself, along with the rest of article 43, defines and limits what that job is.
Advisory Committee Notes
This section invests nonofficial referees with the power necessary to fulfill their functions. The powers are subject to limitation by rule, order, and court practice. See e.g., General Electric Co. v Golden Rule Appliance Co. 3 AD2d 437, 161 NYS2d 268 (1957); see also § 4213. The general power granted referees appointed to determine issues or to perform acts is derived from CPA § 469. That section, however, was concerned only with referees to determine issues, granting them the powers which a court would have in trying an issue without a jury. CPA § 80 specified the power of a referee to perform acts, defining it as the power possessed by a clerk or master in chancery, in matters referable to him, in 1846. No reason exists, however, for distinguishing, in the statute, between referees to perform acts and referees to determine issues. Under CPA § 469, the jurisdiction of a referee to determine issues terminated upon the filing of his decision, and he did not have the authority which CPA § 549 gave the court to hear motions for new trials and to amend his findings or make new ones. Casiano v Dukas, 2 Misc 2d 560, 172 NYS2d 512 (S Ct 1956). By investing referees required to determine issues or to perform acts with powers co-extensive with those of the courts in an action tried without a jury, this section gives them jurisdiction over post-trial motions pursuant to § 4404(b).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308; amd, L 1964, ch 388, § 20; L 1983, ch 840, § 4, eff April 1, 1983.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: powers of a referee New Yorkreferee to determine CPLRjudicial hearing officer powers New Yorkcan a referee hold someone in contemptNew York referee authority