The judiciary of the State of New York (officially the New York State Unified Court System) is the judicial branch of the New York state government, comprising all the courts of the State of New York (excluding extrajudicial administrative courts).

The Court of Appeals, sitting in Albany and consisting of seven judges, is the state's highest court. The Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court is the principal intermediate appellate court. The New York State Supreme Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction in civil cases statewide and in criminal cases in New York City. Outside New York City, the 57 individual County Courts hear felony criminal cases. There are a number of local courts in different parts of the state, including the New York City Civil Court and New York City Criminal Court.

By one estimate, debt collection actions are 25% of all lawsuits in state courts. The system is administered by the Chief Judge of the State of New York, working with the Chief Administrative Judge, other administrative judges, the Office of Court Administration, and other agencies.

Courts

In general, the judicial system is composed of the appellate courts and the trial courts, consisting of the superior courts and the local courts.

The appellate courts are the:

Court of Appeals Appellate Division of the Supreme Court appellate terms of the Supreme Court appellate sessions of the County Court

The superior courts are the:

Supreme Court County Court specialized courts (Family Court, Surrogate's Court, Court of Claims)

And the local courts:

District Court New York City courts (NYC Civil Court, NYC Criminal Court) city courts justice courts (town and village courts)

There are also other tribunals that are not normally considered part of the New York State Unified Court System or the judiciary proper.

Court of Appeals The New York State Court of Appeals is the state's highest court. In civil cases, appeals are taken almost exclusively from decisions of the Appellate Divisions. In criminal cases, depending on the type of case and the part of the state in which it arose, appeals can be heard from decisions of the Appellate Division, the Appellate Term, and the County Court.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division is the state's second-highest court, and is regionally divided into four judicial departments. It primarily hears appeals from the superior courts in civil cases, the Supreme Court in criminal cases, and the County Court in felony criminal cases in the Third and Fourth Judicial Departments. In addition, in civil cases it may hear appeals from the appellate terms of the Supreme Court when these courts have heard appeals from one of the lower trial courts.

Superior courts

The court of general jurisdiction in New York is the New York Supreme Court. (Unlike in most other states, the Supreme Court is a trial court and is not the highest court in the state.) There is a branch of the New York Supreme Court in each of New York State's 62 counties.

In New York City, the Supreme Court in each county hears all felony cases; outside New York City, these cases are generally heard in the County Court. The Supreme Court hears civil cases seeking money damages that exceed the monetary limits of the local courts' jurisdiction. The Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over most cases in which a party seeks equitable relief such as an injunction, declaratory judgment actions, or proceedings for review of many administrative-agency rulings. The court also has exclusive jurisdiction over matrimonial actions seeking a divorce, legal separation, or annulment of a marriage. In several counties the Supreme Court has a specialized Commercial Division that hears commercial cases.

The New York State County Court operates in each county except for the five counties of New York City (in those counties, the Civil Court, Criminal Court and Supreme Court operate in place of a typical County Court).Constitution of the State of New York Article VI, § 10. "a. The county court is continued in each county outside the city of New York. There shall be at least one judge of the county court in each county and such number of additional judges in each county as may be provided by law. The judges shall be residents of the county and shall be chosen by the electors of the county. b. The terms of the judges of the county court shall be ten years from and including the first day of January next after their election." In many counties, this court primarily hears criminal cases (whereas the Supreme Court primarily hears civil cases), and usually only felonies as lesser crimes are handled by local courts.

The Family Court has exclusive jurisdiction over certain matters involving minors, including juvenile delinquency charges, status offenses, child abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights, adoption, and guardianships. It also handles aspects of domestic relations disputes including child support and child custody (although only the Supreme Court can grant a divorce). The Surrogate's Court exercises exclusive jurisdiction over probate and related matters, and also has jurisdiction over certain guardianship matters (concurrent with the Supreme Court) and over adoption proceedings (concurrent with the Family Court). The Court of Claims hears actions seeking monetary damages against the State of New York itself. The judges are appointed by the Governor subject to confirmation by the State Senate.

Local courts

City courts handle the arraignment of felonies, try misdemeanors and lesser offenses, and try civil lawsuits involving claims of up to $15,000. The New York City Criminal Court and the New York City Civil Court are the local courts in the 5 boroughs of New York City. Some city courts have small claims parts for the informal disposition of matters involving claims of up to $5,000 and/or housing parts to handle landlord-tenant matters and housing violations. The District Court is the local criminal and civil court in Nassau County and the five western towns of Suffolk County. It arraigns felonies and tries misdemeanors and lesser offenses, as well as civil lawsuits involving claims of up to $15,000, small claims and small commercial claims up to $5000, and landlord-tenant actions. Justice courts (town and village courts) try misdemeanors and lesser offenses in towns and villages. These courts are the starting point for all criminal cases outside cities, and handle a variety of other matters including small claims, traffic ticket cases and local zoning matters. They also arraign defendants accused of felonies. These courts may hear civil lawsuits involving claims of up to $3,000 (including small claims cases of up to $3,000). Unlike all other courts, which are state funded, the town and village justice courts are locally funded. Justices are chosen by local election and are not required to have a Juris Doctor degree, license to practice or any other formal legal or law enforcement training, although upon election they are provided with training and are subject to an annual continuing education requirement.

Extrajudicial courts There are numerous administrative courts that are not considered part of the judicial branch of government.

The Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB) is a part of the state Department of Motor Vehicles that adjudicates non-criminal traffic violations (other than parking violations) in New York City. The New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) is an agency of the New York city government that conducts administrative hearings, overseeing the operations of four tribunals: the OATH Tribunal, the Environmental Control Board, the Health Tribunal, and the Taxi & Limousine Tribunal. The New York Court for the Trial of Impeachments, often referred to as the Impeachment Court or sometimes as the High Court of Impeachment, is for the trial of state officers who had been impeached by the State Assembly.

Appeal structure As New York has 11 separate trial courts, and some courts appeal differently based on which Judicial Department they are located in, the sequence of appeals is fairly complex:

The Supreme Court, County Court civil and felony cases, Family Court, Surrogate's Court, and Court of Claims appeal to the Supreme Court, Appellate Division. In the 1st and 2nd Departments: the New York City Civil Court, New York City Criminal Court, other City Courts, District Court, Town Justice Courts, Village Justice Courts, and County Court non-felony criminal cases appeal to the Supreme Court, Appellate Term. In the 3rd and 4th Departments: City Courts, Town Justice Courts, and Village Justice Courts appeal to the County Court, Appellate Session.

Law

Precedent

Decisions of the New York Court of Appeals are binding authority on all other courts, and persuasive authority for itself in later cases. Decisions of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division department panels are binding on the lower courts in that department, and also on lower courts in other departments unless there is contrary authority from the Appellate Division of that department.Duffy v. Horton Memorial Hospital, 66 N.Y.2d 473, 497 N.Y.S.2d 890 (1985); Mountain View Coach Lines v. Storms, 102 A.D.2d 663, 476 N.Y.S.2d 918 (2d Dept. 1984). Decisions by the Supreme Court, Appellate Term must be followed by courts whose appeals lie to it.28 NY Jur 2d, Courts and Judges § 220, at 274 Yellow Book of NY L.P. v. Dimilia, 188 Misc.2d 489, 729 N.Y.S.2d 286 (2001) Published trial court decisions are persuasive authority for all other courts in the state.

The New York Reports and Appellate Division Reports contain the opinions, memorandums, and motions sent by the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court Appellate Division, respectively. The appellate term and trial court opinions are published selectively in the Miscellaneous Reports. The current versions are the New York Reports 3d (cited as N.Y.3d), the Appellate Division Reports 3d (cited as A.D.3d) and the Miscellaneous Reports 3d (cited as Misc.3d).

Procedure The Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) governs legal procedure such as jurisdiction, venue, and pleadings, as well certain areas of substantive law such as the statute of limitations and joint and several liability. Many counties use the New York State Courts Electronic Filing System for electronic court filing (e-filing, like the federal PACER system).

The New York State Courts Electronic Filing System is the electronic court filing (e-filing) system used in the New York State Unified Court System. E-filing in criminal cases in the Supreme Court and County Court may be authorized by the Chief Administrative Judge, but it is unlawful for such documents to be made available to the public online through the electronic filing system.(2)(d)(ii), as amended/added by chapter 237 of the laws of 2015 (enacted August 31, 2015). "Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no paper or document that is filed by electronic means in a criminal proceeding in supreme court or county court shall be available for public inspection on-line. [...]"

The judiciary's 2014–2015 budget request stated that the "expansion of electronic filing continues as a high priority", and stated that it launched a new website that permits the public to order criminal history searches for which it collects $92 million annually.

Administration