New York State Supreme Court of Judicature (New York) Pleadings and Other Civil and Criminal Court Documents

Arranged by an assigned code entered on the verso of each document. Code consists of the New York County Clerk's Office abbreviated series title "PL 1754 to 1837" (PL - "pleadings"), then the initial letter of plaintiff's surname, then an assigned sequential number (up to four digits). The plaintiff in a criminal case is the "King" or the "People." Coded documents are divided into two groups, first those conserved or identified for conservation, and second those not conserved or identified for conservation.

Series contains documents relating to civil litigation and Criminal prosecutions in the Supreme Court of Judicature, filed by the court clerk whose office was in New York City, or in other locations between the years 1778-1783. Series also contains many documents filed by the clerk of the City and County of New York and the clerk of the circuit courts. Most of the documents in civil cases are pleadings by plaintiffs and defendants, bonds, draft rules, and affidavits. There are many other types of documents, almost all of them on paper. The few parchment documents are writs. Criminal case documents include indictments, informations, etc., almost entirely for the period 1753-1795. Among them are indictments of "enemies of the state," i.e. Loyalists, during and after the Revolutionary War. The series also includes a very small number of documents from other courts. Some documents are missing (particularly in letter codes B, C, G, H, and I), but they may be available on microfilm.

Other documents, present for most if not all counties, include coroner's inquisitions into unwitnessed or suspicious deaths, 1780-1797, and rough minutes of circuit courts and courts of oyer and terminer, 1787-1798. For New York City and County there are bonds of individuals receiving liquor licenses, 1785 and 1797, and duplicate militia commissions by the governor, 1797-1822.

Series is available on microfilm which was produced in 1993 for the New York County Clerk's Office.

JN535Series JN535, New York State Supreme Court of Judicature (New York) Pleadings and Other Civil Court Documents, continues this series.

Series JN110, Spreadsheet Index to Supreme Court Documents other than Judgment Rolls.

Series JN121, Card Index to Supreme Court Pleadings and other Court Documents.

Access is also provided to these records via the Historical Court Records Index II, 1754-1910, which indexes by both the plaintiffs' and defendants' full names. This index includes data from the original card file index, Pleadings Index, 1754-1910, which still exists as a paper index and is also available in microfilm.

Conservation and digitization of a portion of these materials is being supported in part by a Federal Save America's Treasure grant administered by the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Additional support provided by the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation.

This collection of court documents was assembled, organized and indexed in the mid-twentieth century by staff of the New York County Clerk's Office.

Use of fragile original documents, especially those in the group identified for conservation, is restricted. Microfilm copies are to be used for reference and reproduction.