Reporting on New York City: Courts

The New York State Unified Court System is the judicial branch of New York State government. Within New York City, there are two citywide courts—Criminal Court and Civil Court that hear lesser charges—as well as multiple statewide courts. The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial court in New York (unlike most other places, where the Supreme Court is the top court—in New York, that is the Court of Appeals).

Learn more from New York City Courts and New York State Courts: An Introductory Guide.

Court records can be found from:

• WebCivil Local: Case information for New York State Local Civil Courts.
• WebCivil Supreme: Case information for New York State Supreme Courts.
• WebCriminal: Overviews of criminal cases (Summary, Charges, Appearances, Motions) for cases only in which a future court appearance is scheduled.
• New York State Courts Electronic Filing (NYSCEF): Full dockets, with PDF documents, from courts that are authorized for e-filing. Click "Search as Guest" to begin, and then search by Party Name or Case Number.