New York State Law

Article 10 - NY Criminal Procedure Law

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S 10.10 The criminal courts; enumeration and definitions.
  . The "criminal courts" of this state are comprised of the superior
courts and the local criminal courts.
  . "Superior court" means:
  (a) The supreme court; or
  (b) A county court.
  . "Local criminal court" means:
  (a) A district court; or
  (b) The New York City criminal court; or
  (c) A city court; or
  (d) A town court; or
  (e) A village court; or
  (f) A supreme court justice sitting as a local criminal court; or
  (g) A county judge sitting as a local criminal court.
  . "City court" means any court for a city, other than New York City,
having trial jurisdiction of offenses of less than felony grade only
committed within such city, whether such court is entitled a city court,
a municipal court, a police court, a recorder`s court or is known by any
other id or title.
  . "Town court." A "town court" is comprised of all the town justices
of a town.
  . "Village court." A "village court" is comprised of the justice of a
village, or all the justices thereof if there be more than one, or, at a
time when he or they are absent, an acting justice of a village who is
authorized to perform the functions of a village justice during his
absence.
  7. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a court
specified herein which possesses civil as well as criminal jurisdiction
does not act as a criminal court when acting solely in the exercise of
its civil jurisdiction, and an order or determination made by such a
court in its civil capacity is not an order or determination of a
criminal court even though it may terminate or otherwise control or
affect a criminal action or proceeding.
S 10.20 Superior courts; jurisdiction.
  1. Superior courts have trial jurisdiction of all offenses. They have:
  (a) Exclusive trial jurisdiction of felonies; and
  (b) Trial jurisdiction of misdemeanors concurrent with that of the
local criminal courts; and
  (c) Trial jurisdiction of petty offenses, but only when such an
offense is charged in an indictment which also charges a crime.
  2. Superior courts have preliminary jurisdiction of all offenses, but
they exercise such jurisdiction only by reason of and through the agency
of their grand juries.
  3. Superior court judges may, in their discretion, sit as local
criminal courts for the following purposes:
  (a) conducting arraignments, as provided in subdivision two of section
170.15 and subdivision two of section 180.20 of this chapter;
  (b) issuing warrants of arrests, as provided in subdivision one of
section 120.70 of this chapter; and
  (c) issuing search warrants, as provided in article six hundred ninety
of this chapter.
S 10.30 Local criminal courts; jurisdiction.
  1.  Local criminal courts have trial jurisdiction of all offenses
other than felonies.  They have:
  (a)  Exclusive trial jurisdiction of petty offenses except for the
superior court jurisdiction thereof prescribed in paragraph (c) of
subdivision one of section 10.20; and
  (b)  Trial jurisdiction of misdemeanors concurrent with that of the
superior courts but subject to divestiture thereof by the latter in any
particular case.
  2.  Local criminal courts have preliminary jurisdiction of all
offenses subject to divestiture thereof in any particular case by the
superior courts and their grand juries.
  3.  Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one, a superior
court judge sitting as a local criminal court does not have trial
jurisdiction of any offense, but has preliminary jurisdiction only, as
provided in subdivision two.
S 10.40 Chief administrator to prescribe forms.
  The chief administrator of the courts shall have the power to adopt,
amend and rescind forms for the efficient and just administration of
this chapter. A failure by any party to submit papers in compliance with
forms authorized by this section shall not be grounds for that reason
alone for denial or granting of any motion.
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