New York Supreme Court

The New York State Supreme Court, as that term is generally used in other judicial districts, is formally referred to as the Court of Appeals. Within the New York State judicial system, or more technically, the New York State Unified Court System, a New York Supreme Court is instead a county-level court for conducting trials.

In contrast to the terminology used to identify a New York State Supreme Court, it should be noted that as a general rule, U.S. judicial systems tend to understand Supreme Courts as being appellate courts, or settings for hearing appeals. A New York State Supreme Court can be found, on the other hand, for all of the 62 counties in the State as a whole, and each of these courts with the ability to initiate judicial proceedings rather than appellate oversight.

In another U.S. State, to provide a means of comparison, a New York Supreme Court would be more likely to be identified instead as a district, circuit or superior court. The New York State Supreme Court exercises jurisdiction, as provided to it under law, in such areas as actions for the divorce of or annulment of marriage between two spouses, declaratory judgments, and Article 78 actions against public entities.

Under a certain level of financial value, a civil law claim will typically be kept out of a New York Supreme Court and instead relegated to a County or Civil-level court. Moreover, criminal offenses deemed relatively insignificant and cases involving the custody of or offenses by minors do not go to the New York State Supreme Court.

NEXT: North Carolina Court Calendars