Prudenti: Understanding New York appellate courts and appeals process

In Brief:

NY trial court decisions are first reviewed by one of four Appellate Division departments.
The Appellate Term in NYC and Nassau/Suffolk handles overflow from lower courts.
The Court of Appeals in Albany has the final say and establishes binding precedents.
Arguments at appellate courts are open to the public and often live-streamed.

This is the last in an occasional series of articles explaining the history and scope of the various New York State Courts

Sometimes, New York’s trial judges make a mistake.

They’re human beings, and often very busy human beings. They might misconstrue or misapply the law. They might misinterpret a law that the higher courts haven’t yet interpreted. They might allow, or disallow, evidence improperly. But there’s always at least one appellate panel—and sometimes two—to set things straight.

New York’s appellate courts play a vital role in ensuring justice is done in each individual case, and perhaps more importantly, settling the law for the future so that it can be applied uniformly and consistently. But as is typical in New York, it’s all a little confusing. So, in this column I’ll try to sort it all out.

For the most part, trial court decisions are first reviewed in one of the four geographic departments of the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court.

The First Department, in Manhattan, handles only appeals from New York County and the Bronx.
The Second Department, in Brooklyn, hears appeals from Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties.
The Third Department covers 28 counties from Kingston to Canada, and down to Binghamton.
And the Fourth Department, based in Rochester, handles Central and Western New York and the Southern Tier.

Last year, the four departments collectively issued over 15,000 decisions, heard 4,000 oral arguments and decided more than 25,000 motions. They are swamped, but the New York City departments get some help from a unique court, the “Appellate Term,” which generally handles appeals from the New York City Civil and criminal courts and district courts in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Last year, the Appellate Term siphoned off about 1,300 cases that otherwise would have gone to the First or Second Department.

Sometimes, those courts make a mistake, and sometimes an Appellate Division panel (usually five judges) construes a statute one way and a panel in another region interprets it differently. So, which one got it right?

The Court of Appeals, based in Albany, is at the top of the heap. Except for the very rare case that goes up to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals has the last word.

It is comprised of seven judges, all appointed by the governor for 14-year terms. The governor may only appoint judges recommended by the bi-partisan Commission on Judicial Nomination, which includes appointees of the governor, chief judge and legislative leaders. The court’s main role, beyond deciding a particular case, is settling the law and establishing precedents.

As someone who served as presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department, and sat on the Court of Appeals when the top court was shorthanded, I’ve seen firsthand what goes on behind the scenes. It’s quite impressive.

On both the Appellate Division and the Court of Appeals, the judges are acutely aware of the gravity of their job, the importance of getting it right and the danger of unforeseen consequences if they adopt a broad new rule. They truly study the record and briefs, huddle with their clerks to hash out the legal points and often engage in lively debate with the other judges when the cases are conferenced.

The conferences—private meetings where the judges who heard the appeal discuss how to rule—can be intense and animated. Appellate judges tend to be very smart, scholarly, principled and opinionated. Sometimes one or more judges will disagree with what the majority has decided and will issue a dissent. But most of the time, the judges can disagree, even forcefully, without being disagreeable.

As I noted in the first column in this series (“Understanding New York’s Misnamed Supreme Court,” LIBN June 5, 2025) most Americans could not pass the civics exam required of immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens. Our appellate court arguments are a daily civics lesson, and I’d encourage everyone to tune in.

Arguments at the Court of Appeals and Appellate Division are virtually always open to the public and usually live-streamed. Appellate arguments rarely take more than a half hour, and it’s illuminating to view our justice system in action.

Gail Prudenti is the former chief administrative judge of the courts of the State of New York; former presiding justice of the Appellate Department, Second Division; and the former dean of Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. She currently serves as partner at Burner Prudenti Law, P.C.