Putnam County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Putnam County is part of the Hudson Valley region of New York. The county was carved out of Dutchess County in 1812. It is home to over 97,942 people. Carmel is the county seat, holding most of the government buildings, including the county's courthouse. Putnam County has a tiered court system, which includes the Supreme Court, County Court, Surrogate's Court, Family Court, and Town and Village Courts.

Excluding courts located in towns or villages, all courts in Putnam County are located in Carmel. The Surrogate's Court handles all actions relating to the affairs of decedents and the guardianship of the property of an infant. The authority to hear family-related cases such as the abuse or neglect of children, paternity matters, child custody, and family violence is vested in the Family Court. The Putnam Supreme and County Court are housed in the same courthouse. While the Supreme Court has general jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases, the County Court has limited jurisdiction over civil cases but may prosecute less serious criminal cases. The Town and village courts conduct preliminary hearings for serious offenses. Besides, they hold hearings for traffic offenses, misdemeanors, ordinance violations, and small claims of up to $3,000.

Derived from a six-year caseload overview, Putnam County courts handle and dispose of a relatively low volume of cases annually. The Family Court resolves, on average, around 1,600 cases, and the Supreme and County Courts manage, on average, approximately 1,100 civil cases but less than 100 criminal cases. The Surrogate's Court disposes of an average number of 550 cases every year. Moreover, the Clerks of various courts are responsible for both safekeeping the records of actions filed with their respective courts and providing them for inspection upon request. However, public access may be limited for records where confidentiality surpasses disclosure. Such records typically include:

• Sealed records
• Adoption records
• Custodial Records
• Medical Records
• Mental competency records
• Sex offense records

Finally, the publicly available records from Putnam County can also be accessed online via the eCourts resource.

In summary, Putnam County has a comprehensive county system consisting of a Family Court, a Surrogate's Court, a Supreme Court, a County Court, and Town and Village Courts. All of these courts have various jurisdictions that concern themselves with handling specific legal matters. Also, the court system provides public access to court records both personally and online while still protecting confidentiality.