It has been said that keeping the justice system operating under emergency conditions is not simply a matter of disaster recovery. The attack on the World Trade Center sent the administration of justice in New York City into chaos. Through more than 50 interviews with justice officials, observations of several hundred court hearings, and the reading of court files this report examined how the administration of justice in New York City continued to operate under emergency conditions. Judicial officials confronted potential problems, such as limited access to courts, lack of communication, significant backlog of cases, and a suspicious public. The examination revealed four critical issues crucial to the administration of justice in emergency disaster times. The first two were directly applicable in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center, and the latter two dealt with civil disturbances and were more likely relevant to future emergencies. The first issue is the question of leadership. New York State's Chief Judge established the priorities by stating that the courts would reopen and conduct business as soon as possible following the attack. The judge guided the system throughout the crisis by establishing the priorities. The second crucial issue was returning to business as usual. Even though there was an attempt to postpone all the cases of jail defendants, judges insisted on maintaining individual consideration of each case. There was a cooperative effort to bring the cases to court with several being resolved prior to their postponed dates. Relevant to the days following September 11, was the involvement of community representatives to bridge potential credibility gaps with the public and the institution of temporary legal oversight. It was concluded that the judges' confidence in their courts ability to come through in this crisis restored the administration of justice quickly. The findings suggest that officials in New York City, as well as officials across the country should continue to plan across agencies for emergency conditions with special emphasis on the four issues discussed. Appendix