Two Criminal Courts Serve Kings County
Brooklyn does not run one criminal court. It runs two. The NYC Criminal Court hears misdemeanors and minor offenses. It also handles arraignments, the first court appearance after an arrest. Most criminal cases start here. The Kings County branch of the NYC Criminal Court sits at 120 Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn.
Felony cases move up to the Supreme Court Criminal Term. In New York, Supreme Court is a trial court, not the high court, and the Criminal Term is its felony side. The Criminal Term courthouse stands at 320 Jay Street. The court describes it as one of the newest and most advanced courthouses in the state, with more than 30 judges and about 500 staff. A felony case can pass through both courts. It may begin with an arraignment in Criminal Court, then move to the Criminal Term once a grand jury returns an indictment.
The split matters for any search. A misdemeanor lookup and a felony lookup can land in different systems. The same person can show up under more than one court if charges were filed at more than one stage.
Finding Kings County Criminal Court Dates
The state runs a free tool for upcoming criminal court dates. It is called WebCriminal, also written WebCrims. It works for both the NYC Criminal Court and the Supreme Court Criminal Term. The picture below links to the official WebCriminal defendant search page, the main entry point for Brooklyn criminal court dates.
WebCriminal has firm limits. It shows only upcoming court dates. It will not show warrants, finished cases, or sealed cases. A name search needs the first 3 letters of the last name and the first 2 letters of the first name. The CourtHelp WebCrims guide walks through each search mode.
- Open WebCriminal and pick a search mode. You can search by defendant name, by docket number, or by court calendar.
- For a name search, type at least the first 3 letters of the last name and the first 2 of the first name.
- For a docket search, enter the full number in CR-######-YYSU format.
- For a calendar search, choose "Criminal Court" in the court field. Use the part number such as D31 or D44, not the judge's name.
- Read the result for the next date, the courtroom or part, and the time. If a case is open but not online, call the court during business hours.
WebCriminal Search Fields for Kings County
The fields below come from the CourtHelp WebCrims guide and the WebCriminal search page. The tool is free and does not need an account. Remember the rule: only upcoming criminal court dates appear, so a closed Brooklyn case will not return a result here.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name | Text | Conditional | Minimum first 3 letters required for a name search |
| First Name | Text | Conditional | Minimum first 2 letters required for a name search |
| Docket Number | Text | Conditional | Full format CR-######-YYSU |
| Court | Dropdown | Conditional | Choose "Criminal Court" for NYC misdemeanor and arraignment lookups |
| Courtroom / Part | Text | Conditional | Use the part number such as D31 or D44, not the judge's name |
| Search | Button | Yes | Runs the lookup and returns the next scheduled date |
Note: WebCriminal lists only future court dates; warrants, sealed cases, and finished cases never appear, so an empty result does not mean a case never existed.
NYC Criminal Court vs Supreme Court Criminal Term
The two courts differ by charge level, by building, and by what each one handles. The table sets them side by side. Use it to decide where a Brooklyn case sits before you start a search.
| Point | NYC Criminal Court | Supreme Court Criminal Term |
|---|---|---|
| Charge level | Misdemeanors and minor offenses | Felony cases |
| First appearance | Runs arraignments after arrest | Handles felony cases after indictment |
| Possible sentence | Up to one year jail or less | More than one year may be imposed |
| Brooklyn address | 120 Schermerhorn Street | 320 Jay Street |
| Court date tool | WebCriminal | WebCriminal |
| Completed file copies | Criminal Court clerk channels | Criminal Term Records Room |
A single arrest can touch both. The arraignment happens in Criminal Court. If the charge is a felony and a grand jury indicts, the case moves to the Criminal Term at 320 Jay Street. For the felony side as a whole, see the Supreme Court page.
Criminal Term Departments in Kings County
The Supreme Court Criminal Term runs several units, each with its own job. The official Criminal Term departments page lists them. Knowing the unit helps a caller reach the right desk on the first try.
- Arraignments: the unit that processes first appearances and reads charges.
- Bail: handles bail amounts, bond posting, and release conditions set by the court.
- Records Room: keeps completed Supreme Court criminal files and issues certificates of disposition.
- Warrant Clerk: keeps warrant files; warrants are issued and vacated through this office.
- Drug Court: routes eligible drug-charge defendants into treatment in place of jail.
- Domestic Violence parts: two parts hear domestic violence cases, with coordinators on hand to help victims.
The Drug Court part offers treatment instead of jail for some misdemeanor or felony drug charges. If a person finishes the program, the case can be dismissed. Eligibility depends on the charge, the criminal history, a treatment assessment, and how well the person follows court conditions. The two Domestic Violence parts keep program coordinators in the courtroom so victims can get help during the case.
Certificates of Disposition and Completed Files
WebCriminal will not show a finished case. To prove how a Brooklyn felony case ended, a person needs a certificate of disposition. That is the official document showing the case outcome. For Supreme Court felony cases, the certificate comes from the Criminal Term Records Room at 320 Jay Street.
The Records Room keeps completed Supreme Court criminal files. It also houses the Warrant Clerk and warrant files. Because online tools skip warrants and closed cases, this office is the practical stop for proof of disposition, file copies, or warrant questions. Bring a government ID, the docket number if known, and the party name. A certificate of disposition is often required for immigration matters, jobs, housing, and licensing. For broader case files and other portals, see the Kings County court records page.
Warrant files are not posted online. To check a warrant, the Records Room and Warrant Clerk are the official local channel. More detail sits on the warrant records page.
Criminal Term Records Room
Kings County Supreme Court, Criminal Term
320 Jay Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
347-296-1076
Mon-Fri 9 AM-5 PM
The Brooklyn DA and Public Defenders
The Brooklyn District Attorney prosecutes crimes in Kings County. The current DA is Eric Gonzalez, a career prosecutor first elected in 2017. His office is one of the largest prosecutors' offices in the country. The Brooklyn DA's office runs bureaus for gender-based violence, hate crimes, homicide, and other case types. It also runs a Conviction Review Unit and victim services.
People who cannot afford a lawyer get assigned counsel. In a criminal case, the court may assign a defender at arraignment once a person shows they qualify financially. Two main groups provide indigent defense in Brooklyn: the Legal Aid Society and Brooklyn Defender Services. Institutional defenders are contracted organizations. In some matters the court appoints a private panel attorney instead. The contact card lists the DA Action Center and Victim Services line.
Brooklyn District Attorney's Office
District Attorney's Action Center
350 Jay Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Action Center: 718-250-2340
Victim Services: 718-250-3820
Domestic Violence Bureau: 718-250-3300
Sealed Criminal Records in Kings County
New York seals records more often than it destroys them. Sealing hides a record from most public view. Several statutes control how it works for a Brooklyn criminal case. A case that ends in a favorable way is sealed under CPL § 160.50. Most violations and traffic infractions are sealed on conviction under CPL § 160.55.
Older convictions can be sealed too. CPL § 160.59 lets some people apply to seal certain convictions ten years after sentence or release. The applicant files in the court where the conviction happened. CourtHelp states the filing fee is $10 in the five boroughs. If the judge grants it, the court signs a sealing order. After that, a sealed conviction can generally be seen only by law enforcement and a few qualified agencies, not the public.
Sealing is why a search can come back empty. A case that once existed may now be hidden by statute. For arrest-stage records and the charge-versus-conviction split, see the arrest records page.
Federal Criminal Cases and Law Enforcement in Brooklyn
Not every Brooklyn criminal case is a state case. Federal crimes are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. The lead-in below links to the official U.S. Attorney EDNY office, which handles federal charges across Brooklyn and the rest of the district.
Federal felony cases do not appear in WebCriminal or the Criminal Term Records Room. They run through the federal courts at the Theodore Roosevelt United States Courthouse on Cadman Plaza East, and case files live in PACER, not the state systems. So a federal case search is a separate path from a Kings County Criminal Court case search.
The U.S. Marshals Service handles federal custody, courthouse security, and warrants in the district. The picture below links to the official U.S. Marshals EDNY courthouse locations page.
The Marshals office sits in the same Brooklyn federal courthouse. If a person is held in federal custody after a Brooklyn arrest, custody and release data move through federal systems, not the NYC Criminal Court. To trace someone in custody locally, the inmate records page covers the city and state locators.