The

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

court system consists of the several citywide and state courts.

Courts

There are two city courts, the Criminal Court and the Civil Court, and several state courts, the Supreme Court, Surrogate's Court, and Family Court. Unlike the rest of New York, counties within New York City do not have a typical

County Court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

Criminal Court

The

Criminal Court of the City of New York The Criminal Court of the City of New York is a court of the State Unified Court System in New York City that handles misdemeanors (generally, crimes punishable by fine or imprisonment of up to one year) and lesser offenses, and also conducts ar ...

handles

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

s (generally,

crimes In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

punishable by fine or imprisonment of up to one year) and lesser offenses, and also conducts

arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisd ...

s (initial court appearances following arrest) and preliminary hearings in

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

cases (generally, more serious offenses punishable by imprisonment of more than one year).

Civil Court

The Civil Court of the City of New York decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $25,000 and includes a small claims part for cases involving amounts up to $5,000 as well as a housing part for landlord-tenant matters, and also handles other civil matters referred by the Supreme Court. It handles about 25% of all the New York courts' total filings.

Supreme Court

Front of Bronx County Hall of Justice on 30 June 2012

The Supreme Court of the State of New York is radically different from similarly named courts in nearly all other states. It is the

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...

general jurisdiction {{Globalize, article, USA, 2name=the United States, date=December 2010 A court of general jurisdiction is a court with authority to hear cases of all kinds – criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth. United States All federal courts ar ...

, not the highest court in the state. In New York City, there are five venues for Supreme Court, one in each of New York City's five counties, which hear felony cases and major civil cases. Lesser criminal and civil cases are heard in the Criminal Court and

Civil Court Civil law may refer to: * Civil law (common law), the part of law that concerns private citizens and legal persons * Civil law (legal system), or continental law, a legal system originating in continental Europe and based on Roman law ** Private la ...

, respectively.

Surrogate's Court

The Surrogate's Court of the State of New York is the

probate court A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the Administration of an estate on death, administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts ma ...

which oversees the probate of

wills Wills may refer to: * Will (law) A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the pr ...

and administers estates. Each Surrogate's Court is located in each of New York City's five counties (boroughs).

Family Court

The Family Court of the State of New York is a

family court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

that hears cases involving children and families and handles issues such as child abuse and neglect (child protection), adoption, child custody and visitation, domestic violence, guardianship, juvenile delinquency, paternity, persons in need of supervision (PINS), and child support. The New York City Family Court ("Family Court of the State of New York within the City of New York") is located in each of New York City's five counties (boroughs).

Other tribunals

The

Traffic Violations Bureau The Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB) is an administrative court of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles that adjudicates non-criminal traffic violations (other than parking violations) in New York City.Vehicle and Traffic Law article 2- ...

(TVB) is a part of the

New York State Department of Motor Vehicles The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NYSDMV or DMV) is the department of the New York state government responsible for vehicle registration, vehicle inspections, driver's licenses, learner’s permits, photo ID cards, and adjudicat ...

that adjudicates non-criminal traffic violations (other than parking violations) in New York City and

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

. The

New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings The New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) is an administrative office of the New York City government. It is a non-mayoral executive agency and is not part of the state Unified Court System. Administrative trials nei ...

(OATH) is an independent agency of the

New York city government The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the ...

that conducts

administrative court An administrative court is a type of court specializing in administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are considered s ...

hearings, overseeing the operations of four tribunals: the OATH Tribunal, the Environmental Control Board, the Health Tribunal, and the Taxi & Limousine Tribunal.

Administration

The state court system is divided into thirteen judicial districts (JDs), with five JDs in New York City, one for each county/borough. The

Deputy Chief Administrator for the New York City Courts Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

(or Deputy Chief Administrative Judge if a judge) is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the trial-level courts located in New York City, and works with the Administrators of the various courts in New York City in order to allocate and assign judicial and nonjudicial personnel resources to meet the needs and goals of those courts. An Administrator (or Administrative Judge if a judge) supervises each city court, the state Family Court within the city, and state civil or criminal courts (or both) within each JD (county/borough). Administrators are assisted by Supervising Judges who are responsible in the on-site management of the trial courts, including court caseloads, personnel, and budget administration, and each manage a particular type of court within a county or judicial district.

Judges

New York City Criminal Court judges are appointed by the

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

to 10-year terms from a list of candidates submitted by the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. New York City Civil Court judges are elected from districts to 10-year terms, with vacancies filled by the mayor and service continuing until the last day of December after next election, while Housing Part judges are appointed by the Chief Administrative Judge to five-year terms. Judges of the Surrogate's Court are elected for 14-year terms. Judges of the Family Court are appointed by the Mayor to 10-year terms.

Constitution of the State of New York The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constitut ...

Article VI, § 13. " ..The judges of the family court within the city of New York shall be residents of such city and shall be appointed by the mayor of the city of New York for terms of ten years. .. Once a judge is appointed, they can be transferred from one court to another by the Office of Court Administration, and after two years' service in the lower courts, they may be designated by the

Chief Administrator of the Courts The New York State Chief Administrator of the Courts (or Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts if a judge) oversees the administration and operation of the New York State Unified Court System. They are appointed by the Chief Judge of New York ...

upon consultation and agreement with the presiding justice of the appropriate Appellate Division as an Acting Supreme Court Justice with the same jurisdiction as a Supreme Court Justice.

References

External links

New York City Courts

New York State Unified Court System
{{New York City Government

Courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

New York (state) state courts