Judiciary of New York in the context of New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division

The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil jurisdiction, with most criminal matters handled in county courts.

New York is the only state where supreme court is a trial court rather than a court of last resort (which in New York is the Court of Appeals). Also, although it is a trial court, the Supreme Court sits as a "single great tribunal of general state-wide jurisdiction, rather than an aggregation of separate courts sitting in the several counties or judicial districts of the state." The Supreme Court is established in each of New York's 62 counties.

The County Courts are courts within the New York State Unified Court System located in each county outside New York City. In New York City, criminal and civil matters are heard in the city Criminal Court and Civil Court, respectively, or the state Supreme Court.

The government of the State of New York, headquartered at the New York State Capitol in Albany, encompasses the administrative structure of the US state of New York, as established by the state's constitution. Analogously to the US federal government, it is composed of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The head of the executive is the governor. The legislature consists of the Senate and the Assembly. The Unified Court System consists of the Court of Appeals and lower courts. The state is also divided into counties, cities, towns, and villages, which are all municipal corporations with their own government.

The Civil Court of the City of New York is a civil court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $50,000 and includes a small claims part (small claims court) for cases involving amounts up to $10,000 as well as a housing part (housing court) for landlord-tenant matters, and also handles other civil matters referred by the New York Supreme Court. The court has divisions by county (borough), but it is a single citywide court.

It handles about 25% of all the New York state and local courts' total filings. The court consists of 3 parts: Housing, Small Claims, and General Civil. The court's jurisdiction includes ejectment actions, replevin of personal property within monetary limits, equity jurisdiction limited to real property actions, real property actions such as partitions, foreclosures within monetary limits, and actions to rescind or reform a contract.