Case-law access map · checked November 7, 2026
New York: where to read court opinions for free
Free and searchable from 1682 to today (CourtListener from 1806; the court's own site from 1847; Caselaw Access Project to 2018).
Appeals courts: free and searchable from 1682 to today (CourtListener from 1886; the court's own site from 2003; Caselaw Access Project to 2018).
As we read the highest court's own website and the free indexes on November 7, 2026. CourtListener's years come from its public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026). The table has each court and source.
Not legal advice. Check the court's own website before relying on any listing.
Courts and sources
Each line is one court read from one source. Years are the span that source lists; “inferred” means taken from a description of the site, not from the site itself. A site that refused our automated check may still open in a browser.
| Court | Level | Source | Years | Text search | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Court of Appeals | Highest court | nycourts.gov | from 1847 | Yes | Opened in our check |
| New York Court of Appeals | Highest court | CourtListener evidence | 1806–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check109,604 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 24, 2026; 1,787 with approximate dates. |
| New York Court of Chancery | Highest court | CourtListener evidence | 1806–1848 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in useCourtListener lists it as a historical court.3,168 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Oct 21, 1848; 205 with approximate dates. |
| Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1886–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check767,215 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 29, 2026; 125,698 with approximate dates. |
| Appellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1890–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check23,553 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 24, 2026; 5,577 with approximate dates. |
| Court Of Oyer And Terminer New York | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1817–1932 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in useCourtListener lists it as a historical court.153 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Jun 17, 1932; 112 with approximate dates. |
| New York Appellate Division (4 Departments) | Appeals | nycourts.gov | from 2003 | Yes | Opened in our check |
| New York Appellate Term (1st and 2nd Departments) | Appeals | nycourts.gov | from 2003 | Yes | Opened in our check |
| New York State Hospital Commission | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | Years not measured | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use6 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); 6 with approximate dates. |
| Civil Court of the City of New York | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1962–2023 | Yes | Opened in our check3,496 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Oct 10, 2023; 1 with approximate dates. |
| Constitutional Court of New York | Other | CourtListener evidence | Years not measured | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use1 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); 1 with approximate dates. |
| Court Of Arbitration Of The Chamber Of Commerce Of New York | Other | CourtListener evidence | Years not measured | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use1 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); 1 with approximate dates. |
| Criminal Court of the City of New York | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1823–2017 | Yes | Opened in our check1,748 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Oct 31, 2017. |
| New York - all reported decisions in CAP reporters | Other | Caselaw Access Project (Harvard) evidence | 1682–2018 | No | Opened in our check |
| New York - state appellate and supreme courts (published opinions) | Other | Google Scholar | from 1950 | Yes | Opened in our check |
| New York Attorney General Reports | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1956–2011 | Yes | Opened in our checkCourtListener shows no automatic collection of new opinions from this court.2,708 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Nov 30, 2011; 15 with approximate dates. |
| New York Court of Assizes | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1682 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use8 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Oct 6, 1682. |
| New York Court of Claims | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1910–2026 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use2,783 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Aug 17, 2026; 165 with approximate dates. |
| New York Court on the Judiciary | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1978–1980 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use11 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest May 5, 1980. |
| New York Executive Chamber | Other | CourtListener evidence | Years not measured | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use4 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); 4 with approximate dates. |
| New York Family Court | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1912–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check720 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Mar 3, 2026; 7 with approximate dates. |
| New York Marine Court | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1874–1881 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in useCourtListener lists it as a historical court.200 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 23, 1881; 170 with approximate dates. |
| New York State Assembly | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1778–1871 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use69 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Jan 3, 1871; 1 with approximate dates. |
| New York Surrogate's Court | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1854–2025 | Yes | Opened in our check14,732 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 26, 2025; 4,296 with approximate dates. |
Where else to look
- CourtListener: Lists 8 New York courts.
- Caselaw Access Project (Harvard): Holds published opinions from 1682 to 2018.
- Google Scholar: Its help page says its case law covers state appellate and supreme courts since 1950.
- nycourts.gov: Official court website.
- Justia: Also publishes opinions; we did not check it state by state.
Known gaps
- The Caselaw Access Project holds published opinions only through 2018.
- Our survey lists no free statewide source of trial-court opinions for this state.
Corpus
Corpus holds the statutes, not the opinions
For the law itself, Corpus searches New York statutes, and each result cites its section and links the source.
Data: Corpus Open (open source). CourtListener bulk data (public domain), snapshot Sep 30, 2026.
Read by Corpus on November 7, 2026. Sites change; check the court’s own website before relying on a line.
Not legal advice. Check the court's own website before relying on any listing. Corpus is not a law firm.