Onondaga County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Onondaga County was established in 1794 in central New York. Its county seat and largest city is the City of Syracuse. It covers a land area of 778 square miles and is home to more than 472,600 residents as of 2022. The judicial system in Onondaga County consists of six Trial Courts, including the Supreme, County, Family, Surrogate's, City, and Justice Courts.

The Supreme and County Courts in Onondaga County are under New York's 5th Judicial District. The Supreme Court hears all criminal proceedings and civil issues in the county. It presides over most felony trials and civil claims for more than $25,000. Onondaga County's Supreme Court has three Divisions: Matrimonial Part, Integrated Domestic Violence Court (IDVC), and Commercial Division. The IDVC hears legal issues related to criminal domestic violence and civil protection orders, while the Dedicated Matrimonial Division handles all post-marital actions. Complex commercial lawsuits, including breach of contract and business torts, are heard at the Supreme Court Commercial Division. The Onondaga County Court hears minor felony cases, misdemeanor trials, and civil lawsuits, which involve not more than $25,00 in financial disputes. Juvenile, marriage dissolution, and adoption cases are within the jurisdiction of Onondaga's Family Court. Meanwhile, legal proceedings involving probate of wills, administration of deceased estates, guardianship, and conservatorship occur at the Surrogate's Court. The City Court in Syracuse hears minor misdemeanors, felony pretrials, and small claims cases not more than $5,000. Onondaga County also has the following Justice (Towns/Village) Courts set up by municipalities to handle traffic infractions and ordinance violations.

• Baldwinsville
• Cicero
• Camillus
• Clay
• DeWitt
• East Syracuse
• Elbridge
• Fabius
• Fayetteville
• Geddes
• LaFayette
• Liverpool
• Lysander
• Manlius
• Marcellus
• Minoa
• Onondaga
• Salina
• Spafford
• Tully
• Van Buren

According to the NYS Unified Court System, Onondaga County courts have handled about 5,000 criminal filings annually since 2020. It finalizes more than 95% of these cases each year. Meanwhile, law enforcers in the county reported approximately 10,000 criminal offenses each year. The Clerk's Office maintains District Court records in Onondaga County. Residents can use the Clerk's contact directory to make phone or in-person requests for public court records. Online access to some court records filed in Onondaga County courts is available via the New York eCourt platform. Note that court Clerks often restrict access to sealed and confidential court records such as juvenile and adoption case files.

In summary, the Onondaga judiciary, consisting of the Supreme, County, Family, Surrogate, City, and Justice Courts, administers fair and prompt judicial processes. Court proceedings in the county are transparent, while justices are impartial. To promote public trust and accountability, Onondaga County Courts provide public access to case files.