September 21: Message from Chief Judge DiFiore
Video available with Captioning | Transcript of the Chief Judge's Message
Responding to an Eviction Proceeding:
NYC | OUTSIDE NYC
Electronic Document Delivery System (EDDS)
The UCS has made available a system of secure document transmission by court users to judges,
clerks of court, and other UCS offices around the State. This system, known as the Electronic Document Delivery System (EDDS),
may also be used for filing of documents in pending cases in courts where NYSCEF is not available. EDDS may be used by attorneys, unrepresented persons, and other court users.
For more information on this system, view the
EDDS Notice and the
EDDS FAQs.
EDDS should NOT be used for the filing of emergency applications except in a Family Court that has been authorized to receive such applications via EDDS, or in a Court where the Judge directs the use of EDDS for that purpose. For information on filing such applications please contact the court directly.
(If you do not have a lawyer, you may visit the
CourtHelp website or the
DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Forms page for helpful
information about the legal process and legal documents.)
Send a Document with EDDS
As part of our effort to provide court staff and the public with up-to-date accurate information about the impact of the coronavirus upon the courts – and especially as COVID-19 testing becomes more broadly available -- we ask the following:
If you have been tested or test positive for COVID-19 and have visited any UCS courthouse or court facility in the prior fourteen days, please fill out and submit the Covid19 Test Result Form as soon as possible. If you prefer to notify the court system by phone, call 833-503-0447.We will then notify court personnel, attorneys and other members of the public who may have been at risk of exposure, in order that they may contact their medical professionals and take appropriate further steps for their and their families’ health and safety. Thank you for your cooperation in this important notification effort during these challenging times.
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FreeLegal Assistance by phone/web.
CourtHelp when you don't have a lawyer.
Appear in court by phone or video.
Ask a Law Librarian for legal research.
During the current coronavirus public health emergency, the NY State Court System remains open to address all essential and critical needs of the public. Concurrently, we continue to work closely with our partners in government, including State and local health authorities, to take appropriate measures in order to prioritize the health and safety of all court visitors and staff.
More Info
Latest News:
Monday, Sept. 21, 2020 - Press Release
Chief Judge Names Business Council to Boost Access to Justice Efforts
Friday, Sept. 18, 2020
Statement from Chief Judge Janet DiFiore regarding the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
The New York State Unified Court System mourns the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a native New Yorker and pioneering lawyer and judge who made history as the second woman ever to serve on our nation’s highest court. After graduating first in her class from Columbia Law School, Justice Ginsburg overcame adversity and gender-based discrimination to become a distinguished law professor and influential national advocate for women’s rights. In 1993, she was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Clinton, where she spent the next 27 years forging an exceptional legacy as a stellar judge and passionate defender of constitutional rights. Throughout her judicial career, Justice Ginsburg remained close to the New York legal community and returned here often to participate enthusiastically in bar- and court-sponsored lectures and events. We feel like we have lost one of our own, and we extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to her family, friends and colleagues.
Friday, Sept. 18, 2020 - Press Release
Important Information Regarding NY's Recently Enacted Expungement Law
Friday, Sept. 18, 2020 - Marihuana: Destruction of Expunged Conviction Record
Friday, Sept. 11, 2020
9/11 Commemoration: Unified Court System Remembers Officers Killed at the World Trade Center
September 9th, 2020
Resumption of Jury Trials Begins Outside of New York City
Cromarty Court Complex, Riverhead, New York
On Wednesday, September 9th, 2020, a slow measured pilot program to resume in person jury trials commenced outside of New York City.
Schyler County began picking jurors for a civil trial and in Suffolk County Court, jurors were being picked for both a civil and a criminal trial. To ensure health and safety, Court Officers supplied masks and face shields to whom ever requested one.
This follows the resumption of the empaneling of Grand Juries in July outside of New York City and August in New York City. More than one hundred Grand Juries have been seated by the end of August Statewide.
September 9, 2020 - Chief Judge’s Civil Legal Services Hearing: 9/21
August 12, 2020 - Eviction Proceedings, Order & Memo
August 10, 2020 - Grand Juries Sworn In
On Monday August 10th, Grand Juries resumed hearing cases in New York City. They join the other 57 Counties outside of New York City that began hearing cases on July 13th.
There will be a total of fourteen seated Grand Juries in the City’s five counties, four in Manhattan, three each in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens and one in Richmond.
Jurors will be required to wear masks and jury rooms will be outfitted with all appropriate health and safety measures with an emphasis on social distancing at all times.
Senior Court Clerk Jon Helfman greets prospective grand jurors at 100 Centre Street in Manhattan.
August 5, 2020 - Press Release
Commission to Reimagine Future of NY Courts Issues Its First Report | Report
August 3, 2020 - Press Release
Appellate Term Appointments Announced
July 28, 2020
Murder Trial Resumes in Bronx Supreme Court
Tuesday, July 28th, marked the resumption of an Intentional Murder jury trial in Bronx Supreme Court before Judge Steven Barrett. The jury, which had already been seated before trial operations ceased in mid-March due to the pandemic, returned, albeit with the courtroom looking very different.
Twelve jurors and three alternates, all socially distanced two seats apart in three rows, resumed listening to testimony.
July 24, 2020 - Memo
Revised Procedure for Addressing Residential & Commercial Foreclosure Proceedings
July 23, 2020 - Press Release
New Administrative Judge Named in Suffolk County
July 23, 2020
Bronx Supreme Court
As New York City courthouses continue to gradually increase in-person operations, the Bronx Hall of Justice implemented safety enhancements including plexiglas and markings on court benches and elevators.
Justice Robert Neary presides over cases in the SCA Part under the watchful eye of court officers.
Bronx Hall of Justice courtroom benches marked to ensure social distancing.
July 23, 2020
Court Officers Graduate
Having to reinvent the way the New York State Court System conducts business due to the pandemic has been paramount over the past few months.
In mid-March the current class of 211 Court Officer recruits was suspended and their graduation in April postponed.
Over the past few weeks, smaller groups of recruits returned to the Academy to complete their basic training. This is the first of 6 squads to return to and complete their basic training. A total of 36 trainees, 32 for courts outside New York City and four for 4 New York City courts graduated this week and will deployed starting Monday.
The remainder of the class, five more squads, are all destined for New York City courts.
ARCHIVE OF COVID19 CONTENT:
July 17 to March 11, 2020
"The New York State Court System provides essential justice services to the people of the State of New York. As we resume in-person operations Statewide to include non-essential matters, all essential functions of the courts remain available to ensure that New Yorkers may access the justice system during this extremely challenging time."
- Chief Judge DiFiore
If you have specific questions about your juror service, a case already in court, or you need to start a court case, call: the Coronavirus Telephone Hotline: 833-503-0447.
JUROR SERVICE:
If you have been summoned for juror service or are serving on a jury, please see the notice from the Commissioner of Jurors regarding coronavirus and the flu.
TEMPORARY ORDERS OF PROTECTION issued in any court of the New York State Unified Court System which were due to expire on or after March 19, 2020 have been extended and are considered still in effect until parties are otherwise notified. If you have had an Order of Protection issued against you and it expired on or after March 19, it is still in effect until you are otherwise notified and you must continue to obey all conditions of that Order .
RESCHEDULING CASES:
Parties will be advised of rescheduled Court dates when normal court business resumes.
Questions about the status of a particular case should be made to the court, at telephone numbers listed at the Court Locator. However, please be advised that, during this health emergency, communications may sometimes be difficult.
