Kings County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Kings County, the state designation for the Brooklyn Borough, was created in 1683. It was named in honor of King Charles II of England. The county has a land area of 69.4 square miles and an estimated population of 2.68 million people. The court system in the county is a unified system that comprises the Surrogate Court, Family Court, Civil Court of the City of New York, and Criminal Court of the City of New York. These Courts are dedicated to the administration of justice promptly and equitably following the rule of law.

The Kings County Surrogate Court is a trial court of general jurisdiction over issues involving probate of wills and administration of decedent's estates. It also handles cases involving guardianships, conservatorships, adoptions, and unclaimed property of persons who died intestate. On the other hand, the Kings County Family Court, located at Jay Street, Brooklyn, and within the 2nd Judicial District, is a trial court of limited jurisdiction over certain juvenile and family-related cases. The juvenile jurisdiction exclusively covers child neglect, delinquency, and child preventive proceedings. Similarly, the domestic relations cases handled by the court include dissolution of marriage, paternity, adoption matters, and child custody. The court shares jurisdiction with the Surrogate's Court over certain adoption and guardianship cases.

Meanwhile, the Civil Court of the City of New York, located at Livingston Street in Brooklyn, has general jurisdiction over most civil claims and counterclaims not subject to financial limits. The court has Divisions for small claims, housing, and general civil cases. The Small Claims Division handles most general claims at most $10,000, while the Housing Court Division handles housing code violations and landlord-tenant holdover proceedings. Moreover, the General Civil Division handles cases involving real property, liens and mortgages, rescission or reformation of certain transactions, and other civil cases of monetary relief not exceeding $50,000. The Criminal Court of the City of New York, located at Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn, has jurisdiction over most misdemeanors and preliminary hearings for felony cases. It also shares jurisdiction with the Family Court over domestic violence orders of Protection.

Kings County has an estimated violent crime rate of 29.9 and a property crime rate of 22.11 per 1,000 residents during a standard year. According to the New York Unified Court System Annual Caseload trend for 2023, a total of 45,158 local criminal cases, 355,638 local civil cases, 39,010 family cases, and 10,851 surrogate cases were resolved. To ensure transparency, most court records are publicly available in Kings County. The Office of the County's Clerk maintains all court records and makes them available online. Moreso, electronically filed cases can be accessed via the New York State Electronic Filing System portal. On the other hand, requesters can visit the courthouse where the cases were held to view physical copies. However, confidential records such as adoption, mental health evaluation, and personal identifier records are not open to public inspection in Kings County.

In summary, the Kings County court system is committed to performing the county government's adjudicatory functions impartially and effectively. They guarantee the resolution of conflicts in a way that respects the law. The county's open handling management of court records ensures easy access and promotes public trust in the legal system. Furthermore, the county is dedicated to upholding the rule of law.