New York State Supreme Court of Judicature (New York) Judgment Rolls
Statement on Language
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Overview of the Records
Repository
- New York State Archives
222 Madison Avenue
Albany, NY 12230
Summary
- This series consists mostly of judgment rolls filed by the clerk of the Supreme Court of Judicature in New York City, prior to July 1, 1847. It also includes judgment rolls of the reorganized Supreme Court, July 1-December 31, 1847, filed by the New York County Clerk. A judgment roll (also called a judgment record) contains a summary of the pleadings and other proceedings in a common-law action, including the trial if there was one. At the conclusion of the judgment roll is the final determination by the court and the amount of the money judgment (debt and/or damages, court costs). The file may contain additional documents relating to defendant's attorney and bail, and satisfaction (payment) of the judgment debt.
Title
- Supreme Court of Judicature (New York) judgment rolls
Quantity
- 240.5 cubic feet
Inclusive Dates
Bulk Dates
Series Number
- JN529
Creator
Arrangement
Chronological by year of filing judgment, then alphabetical by first letter of surname of defendant, then numerical by assigned sequential number.
Scope and Content Note
This series includes judgments handed down by the Supreme Court of Judicature in civil cases and some court documents that preceded those judgments. Judgments, in this case, are money judgments, or cases in which the defendant in a civil case must pay the plaintiff money or the equivalent in goods to satisfy a debt or obligation. Early cases documented in the series pertain to the confiscation of the real property of Loyalists.
These judgment rolls contain pleadings, complaints, answers, affidavits of appearance, judgment records, notices of appeal, bills of cost, and notices of satisfaction. Records may also include lists of jurors. Together, these records document the background to the dispute (usually debt involving promissory notes or sales and tort actions relating to negligence suits), the judgment, and the reasons for the judgment.
Alternate Formats Available
High resolution images of selected original documents in this series are available in State Archives Digital Collections.
Supreme Court of Judicature (New York) Judgment Rolls, 1781-1847, in Digital Collections
New York State Archives Digital Collections
Related Material
JN117 Law Judgments Index indexes these records by plaintiff, defendant, date, and reference number.
Other Finding Aids
Acquisition Information
These records were transferred by the New York State Unified Court System, Office of Court Administration in 2017.
Access Restrictions
Use and reproduction of fragile documents may be restricted.