Navigating The Court System

A short guide to navigating the courts in New York City:

Keep in mind that there are plenty of sources of further information, often at the courthouses themselves, and that, if you are curious, you can watch all or part of a trial because most court proceedings are public, and anyone is permitted to observe them

The courts in New York are divided into two major categories – state courts and federal courts. The federal court includes the district courts – the southern district in Manhattan and the Bronx and the Eastern District for the other boroughs. District courts are courts of general jurisdiction – they deal with cases of any nature. There are also federal courts of limited jurisdiction – those that hear only certain types of case. The Bankruptcy Court. Patent court, Tax Court and the Court of International Trade (formerly the Customs Court) are the one you may encounter.

Federal courts only hear certain types of cases. They hear cases involving criminal violations of Federal law, which state courts cannot hear. They also hear certain types of cases where Congress has given them specific jurisdiction, which may or may not be exclusive. If the jurisdiction is exclusive, then only Federal Courts can hear cases involving those laws. An example of that is copyright law. However, there are many federal statutes that give rise to law suits in state court.

In federal district court, each judge hears any type of case that can be brought. There is no division between the judges that hear criminal matters and those that hear civil cases. You can be waiting for a copyright case to be called, and see part of a case involving robbing the U.S. Mail.

Federal district courts can also hear matters under state law, under certain circumstances.
If an appeal is taken from Federal district court in New York, it goes to the second circuit court of appeals, and a further appeal can go to the Supreme Court of the United States.

State courts in New York are arranged different manner. At the lower level, courts are generally organized by county. The lowest level court of general jurisdiction in New York is the Supreme Court, and there is a Supreme Court for each county. These courts can hear (almost) any type of case that can be brought in N.Y. state courts. The exception is cases brought against New York State, which go to the Court of Claims.

The Supreme Court for the courts in New York City – one for each county, which corresponds almost exactly with each county (there is an exception for Inwood, a small area on the Bronx/Manhattan border, which occurred because the Harlem river was rerouted in the past). In New York City, the Supreme Court hears both Civil law suits and criminal cases, but the court is divided into cranial and civil parts – a judge hearing criminal cases will not, generally (there are exceptions) hear civil cases. The court rooms – and even the buildings are different. Judges are rotated – assigned to different parts – periodically. There is a basic one month cycle (called a term), but a judge may stay in one part for an extended period of time. Other parts are devoted to matrimonial matters (divorce and annulment cases), commercial matters, or cases involving the City of New York.

In New York City, there is also the Civil Court, which was formed by joining the county and municipal court about 50 years ago, which has a limited jurisdiction of cases where the amount sued for is $25,000 or less and certain other cases; criminal court, which handles criminal cases that are misdemeanors (felony cases can only be tried in Supreme Court) and Family Court, which deals with child support obligations, juvenile criminal matters and similar matters.

Appeals from Supreme Court go to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Appeals from Civil Court, Criminal Court and Family Court go to the Appellate Term of the Supreme Court, and if there is a further appeal, then to the Appellate Division.

Appeals from the Appellate Division go to the Court of Appeals, the highest state court in New York State.
Housing Court and Small Claims Court are part of the Civil Court in New York City.
There is also another court, Surrogate’s Court, which handles estate matters, such as probating a will, exclusively. Technically, estate matters could be brought in Supreme Court, but that is exceedingly rarely, if ever, done in the court system as it is today.
So much for the basic structure of the court systems. Here are some nuts and bolts of civil cases in state court.
A court case begins when papers are filed in court. In a regular law suit – called a plenary action – the party commencing the case will file a summons and (most of the time) a complaint. The summons is what starts the case, but the defendant does not have to respond or appear in court unless there is also a complaint.
A special proceeding, which includes housing court matters is started by filing a Notice of Petition and a Petition.

After these first papers are filed, they have to be served on the Defendant (in an action) or the Respondent (in a special proceeding).

Usually, the Defendant or Respondent will serve and file and Answer, which may contain a counterclaim against the party starting the law suit, or a cross claim against another defendant or respondent. Sometimes, a defendant can bring in a third party defendant if the defendant has a claim for indemnification from the third party.

Counterclaims are responded to with a “reply.” Cross claims are responded to with an answer.
The Complaint or Petition, the Answer and the Reply are called pleadings, and they say the basics of what the case is about and what the defenses are.

In plenary actions, the parties will usually have disclosure, sometimes called discovery, where each party can get some information and evidence from the other parties in order to prepare for trial and to assess the merits of the case.

There may be various motions made, where a party requests that a judge issue an order. There are many types of motions. Common motions deal with discovery – to get more or to stop the other party from getting more – or to dismiss the case because it has no legal basis or because there are no facts to support the claims made.

Eventually, the case will come to trial. That is where witnesses tell their stories t the judge or jury, and where a verdict is rendered deciding the case. There may also be motions after trial, to modify the verdict, retry the case, or for some other relief.