NYS Criminal Record Search > Background Check > Instant People Search > Court Records > Reverse Phone Search >>
Search by Maiden Name > State and County Property Records > Social Security Number Search
In-depth look into the structure and function of New York State, as well as County Court System
New York’s Unified Court System says its mission is “to promote the rule of law and serve the public by providing just and timely resolution of all matters before the courts.
Timely and accurate information about the courts in New York can be found on the state’s official court Web site.
New York Court of Appeals
Unlike many if not most court systems, in New York, the Supreme Court does not necessarily rule the roost. At the top of the hierarchy of courts, in both the civil and criminal court structures (which are separate), is the Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals is composed of a chief judge, presently Judith S. Kaye, and six associate judges. Each is appointed to a 14-year term.
The state’s highest appellate court was established to “articulate statewide principles of law in the context of deciding particular lawsuits.” Thus, the court generally focuses on broad issues of law rather than individual factual disputes. There is no jurisdictional limitation based on the amount of money at stake in a case or the status or rank of the parties involved.
Each calendar year is considered one term for the New York Court of Appeals. The judges commence work in January and continue throughout the year in monthly sessions, usually excluding July as a vacation month. Oral arguments at the court of Appeals are conducted during nine calendar months, and the court usually sits in late August to hear and decide cases related to primary elections.
The court’s address is:
State of New York Court of Appeals
20 Eagle St.
Albany, NY, 12207-1095
The main switchboard number for the court is (518) 455-7700, and a more comprehensive telephone directory to court departments is available online.
The court’s Web site has extensive links to available information and services, including: latest court decisions; latest court filings; latest court news; court rules; appropriate forms; current employment opportunities in the Court of Appeals and more.
Other New York State Appellate Courts
In addition to the state’s top court, the New York Court of Appeals, there are four other appellate districts in New York, each covering from two to 28 counties. The New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department, serves just the Bronx and New York counties. The Second Judicial Department is responsible for Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester counties. Counties covered by the Third Judicial Department include Albany, Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Madison, Montgomery, Otsego, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren and Washington. Finally, the Fourth Judicial Department covers the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates.
Courts in New York City
New York’s Supreme Court is a trial court of unlimited original jurisdiction, but it usually hears only those cases that fall outside the jurisdiction of other trial courts where the jurisdictions are more limited. In New York City, the court exercises civil jurisdiction and jurisdiction over felony charges.
In New York County (Manhattan) the Supreme Court seats separate civil and criminal branches.
The Civil Branch of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, is the highest trial court for civil cases in the state court system in New York County. The court traces its origins to 1691 and thus is the oldest continuously serving court of general jurisdiction in the United States.
The court is empowered to decide all civil matter, though the New York City Civil Court is authorized to decide civil cases in which the monetary amount at stakes is $25,000 or less. If such a case is commenced in the Civil Branch of the Supreme Court, a justice there might remand it to the New York City Civil Court. Decisions appealed from the Civil Branch of the Supreme Court are directed to the Appellate Division, First Department.
Cases are commenced by the filing of initiating papers pursuant to relevant codes in the Civil Practice Law and Rules. Each case is assigned to a random justice from a pool of justices assigned to hear cases of particular categories by the administrative judge. More than 30,000 cases per year are pending in the court.
Located in the main courthouse at 60 Centre St., Manhattan, is another appellate court, the Appellate Term of the Supreme Court. This court hears appeals from New Your City Civil Court and the New York City Criminal Court for New York and Bronx counties, including the Housing and Small Claims divisions.
The New York State Supreme Court, Criminal Term, of New York County, is located in two buildings at 100 and 111 Centre St. in Manhattan. This court is a trial court of unlimited, original jurisdiction which can be exercised statewide. It is responsible for the adjudication of all felony prosecutions in Manhattan, and its more than 30 justices work from 33 courtrooms in the two buildings.
The Queens County branch of the Supreme Court hears criminal cases at 125-01 Queens Blvd in Kew Gardens, (718) 298-1000, and civil cases at two locations, 88-11 Sutphin Blvd. in Jamaica, (718) 298-1000, and at 25-10 Court Square in Long Island City, (718) 298-1616. It also operates lower civil courts (including small claims and housing) at 89-17 Sutphin Blvd. in Jamaica, (212) 791-6000; a lower criminal court at 125-01 Queens Blvd. in Kew Gardens, (212) 374-5880; family court at 151-20 Jamaica Ave. in Jamaica, (718) 298-0197; and Surrogate’s Court at 88-11 Sutphin Blvd., 7th Floor, Jamaica, (718) 298-0500.
The Kings County (Brooklyn) branch of the Supreme Court fields civil, criminal, family and other cases at several locations within the borough of Brooklyn. The Supreme Civil Term in King’s County is located at 360 Adams St., (347) 296-1183. The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division in King’s County is located at 320 Jay St., (347) 296-1076. A lower civil court, including small claims and housing cases, is located at 141 Livingston St., (212) 791-6000; lower criminal court is conducted at 120 Schermerhorn St., (212) 374-5880; family court is conducted at 330 Jay St., (347) 401-9600; Surrogate’s Court is at 2 Johnson St., (347) 404-9700; and Brooklyn Drug Treatment Court is located at 320 Jay St., (347) 296-1143.
In the Bronx, the Supreme Court system operates separate civil and criminal branches, surrogate’s court, family court and a separate housing court. The Supreme Court Civil Bureau is at 851 Grand Concourse, (718) 590-3803, 3804 or 3805. The Criminal Bureau for the Bronx is located at 215 East 161st St., (718) 590-2858. Housing Court is located at 1118 Grand Concourse, (718) 466-3000. Surrogate’s Court is at 851 Grand Concourse, (718) 590-3618. And, Family Court is located at 900 Sheridan Ave., (718) 590-3318.
Finally, the Richmond County Branch of the Supreme Court covers Staten Island. Its Civil Term Clerk’s office is located in Room 302 at 130 Stuyvesant Place, (718) 390-5352, and the Matrimonial Clerk’s office is at 355 Front St., (718) 876-6411. The Criminal Term of the Supreme Court in Richmond County exercises trial jurisdiction over all offenses. The Criminal Term Office is located in Room 110 at 18 Richmond Terrace, phone (718) 390-5280.
New York Criminal and Civil Courts outside New York City
Eight court districts, one divided in two parts, exist to serve state residents living outside the city of New York. Like the courts in New York City, each district operates civil and criminal courtrooms, in addition to family court, surrogate’s court and sometimes other specialty courts.
The Third Judicial District serves Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Sullivan, and Ulster counties. Its administrative offices are located at 40 Steuben St., 6th Floor, in the capital city of Albany, (518) 285-8300. The Third JD maintains supreme courts, county courts, surrogate’s courts, and family court for each of its assigned counties. The district also manages city courts for Albany (separate civil, criminal and traffic), and the cities of Cohoes, Hudson, Kingston, Rensselaer, Troy and Watervliet. The district’s specialty courts include various drug, family and juvenile treatment courts in the counties of Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster.
The Fourth Judicial District serves 11 counties: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington. Its administrative offices are at 65 South Broadway, Suite 101, in Saratoga Springs, (518) 587-3019. Supreme, county, family and surrogate’s courts are conducted in Franklin County. In St. Lawrence County, the courts include supreme, county, family, surrogate’s courts, as well as Ogdensburg City Court and dozens of town and village courts. The courts in Warren County include supreme, county, family and surrogate’s courts, plus Glen’s Falls City Court. The Fourth JD also conducts Plattsburgh City Court.
The Fifth Judicial District serves the counties of Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego. Its offices are located in the Onondaga County Office Building at 600 South State St., Syracuse, (315) 671-2111. Herkimer County courts include supreme, county, family and surrogate’s courts, in addition to Little Falls City Court. The Jefferson County courts include the four primary branches – supreme, county, family and surrogate’s – plus Watertown City Courts. The primary four New York court systems, supreme, county, family and surrogate’s, operate in the Lewis County courts, where there are no city-specific courts. The larger, Oneida County system, includes an appellate division, two supreme court branches in Utica and another in Rome, county court in Utica, family courts in Utica and Rome, a surrogate’s court, and city courts in Utica, Rome and Sherrill. The Onondaga County system also is larger, with an appellate division, supreme court, a dedicated matrimonial court, county courts, family court, surrogate’s court, and city courts for Syracuse. The court system in Oswego County has appellate, supreme, county, family and surrogate’s courts, plus city courts for Oswego and Fulton.
New York’s Sixth Judicial District serves the counties of Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Madison, Otsego, Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins. Supreme, county, family, surrogate’s courts and some special venues such as drug treatment courts are operated in the counties. City courts are operated for Binghamton, Elmira, Norwich, Cortland, Oneida, Oneonta, and Ithaca.
The Seventh Judicial District covers the counties of Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates. City courts are operated in Auburn, Rochester, Canandaigua, Geneva, Corning and Hornell.
New York’s Eighth Judicial District is entrusted with the courts in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming counties. City courts are maintained in Olean, Salamanca, Dunkirk, Jamestown, Buffalo, Lackawanna, Tonawanda, Batavia, Lockport, Niagara Falls and North Tonawanda.
The Ninth Judicial District covers five counties that are small in land area, but high in population: Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester. Those counties contain numerous cities with court systems under the Ninth JD’s umbrella, including: Poughkeepsie; Beacon; Middletown; Newburgh; Port Jervis; Mount Vernon; New Rochelle; Peekskill; Rye; White Plains; and Yonkers.
The 10th Judicial District is subdivided into Nassau County and Suffolk County divisions. Nassau County courts include the supreme court, a district court, county court, family court, a matrimonial (divorce) center, surrogate’s court and domestic violence court. In Nassau County there also are city courts for Long Beach and Glen Cove. Suffolk County courts include supreme, district, county, family, surrogate’s court, a court of claims, domestic violence court and numerous town and village courts.
NYS Court of Claims
The New York State Court of Claims is an exclusive forum for civil litigants seeking damages against the state of New York itself, or certain other state-related entities such as the Thruway authority, the City University of New York and the New York State Power Authority. It is located at Capitol Station in Albany, (518) 432-3411. The court attempts to address common questions through its Frequently Asked Questions page. Claims need not be filed in person; they can be filed by fax or electronically
E.Courts in New York
The state operates a site dubbed E.Courts, which provides extensive online access to information about civil, criminal, family court and other cases.
Civil court information is broken into separate WebCivil Local and WebCivil Supreme sites.
The WebCrims site provides online access to criminal cases including future appearance dates in all criminal courts of New York City and Nassau/Suffolk counties, the county courts of the Ninth Judicial District (Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam and Dutchess), county courts in Erie, and the Buffalo City courts. It also includes a display of universal summons case information for the five counties of New York City.
WebFamily provides information about family court cases, including future appearance dates, for family courts throughout the state of New York.
Other E.Courts sites include the WebHousing system and CaseTrac, through which individuals can receive e-mail notification when any activity occurs in a specified case. Through CaseTrac, individuals can follow any active Civil Supreme Court case from any of New York’s 62 counties.
Additional New York Court Information
The New York Unified Court System Web site also provides extensive information on a number of other subjects, including: pro bono (free) legal representation; help and instructions for litigants who need or wish to be self-represented; an index to guardian and fiduciary services; information about attorney discipline and grievances; facts about the state’s many drug courts; general information on New York integrated domestic violence (one judge hearing the same family’s cases on several subjects) and domestic violence courts; mental health issues in the courts; and sex offense courts.
Home | New York Criminal Records | New York Court Records | New York Property Records | New York Vital Records
©2007 NyPublicRecords.com - all rights reserved. Contact Us | Sitemap | About us| Report Broken Links | Suggest Links
Disclaimer: NyPublicRecords.com is not affiliated with any Government Agencies