Research: Topics: Legal & Correction Records: Records Relating to Criminal Trials
Records Relating to Criminal Trials, Appeals, and Pardons
Information Leaflet #9
FINAL APPEALS IN CRIMINAL CASES
Court of Appeals (1847+)
The Court of Appeals is the court of last resort in New York's Unified Court System. The court has jurisdiction over questions of law, new findings of fact in the Appellate Division, and all appeals in capital cases (see below). Court of Appeals orders granting or denying leave to appeal in criminal cases are listed in the New York Reports.
J2002 Cases and Briefs on Appeal, 1847-1989 (15,761 vols.)
The Court of Appeals has transferred to the State Archives the clerk's set of cases (i.e. records on appeal) and briefs dating back to 1847. Additional cases and briefs are transferred after a minimum of six years retention in the court. Cases and briefs of the Court of Appeals starting ca. 1960 are available on microform in several law libraries around the state. See White and Tybur, comps., Union List of Cases and Points/Records and Briefs in New York State Law Libraries.
Access and Restrictions. The cases and briefs are indexed in a card file maintained by the Court of Appeals. Researchers should supply the State Archives with the title of the case and the citation to the reported decision in the New York Reports. The records and briefs for certain categories of cases are restricted. Otherwise the cases and briefs are generally available for public inspection, but photocopying is restricted if the paper is brittle or the binding is fragile.
J2006 Minutes of Causes, 1847-1940 (32 volumes)
These minutes contain entries of notices filed, oral arguments, preliminary and final orders, decision, and return of case to trial court for execution of judgment. They are a convenient listing of actions in each case considered by the Court of Appeals. For other case-tracking records produced by the Court of Appeals, see Guide to Records in the New York State Archives, pp. 387-91.
Access: These minutes are organized chronologically by date of case. Each volume has a case index. The minutes are available without restriction.
Court for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors (1777-1847)
This tribunal was New York's court of last resort under the State's first and second constitutions. It heard only a handful of appeals of criminal cases. The State Archives holds the court's minutes [series J0159] and (incomplete) case files [series J0157]. These records are available on microfilm.
FINAL APPEALS IN CAPITAL CASES
Since its creation in 1847, the Court of Appeals has been the court of last resort for persons convicted of capital crimes. In 1887 the Code of Criminal Procedure was amended to require an automatic direct appeal from the trial court to the Court of Appeals, if the convicted person was sentenced to death. The court was empowered to order a new trial, "if satisfied that the verdict was against the weight of evidence or against law, or that justice requires a new trial, whether any exception shall have been taken or not, in the court below." The substance of this statutory provision was incorporated into the State Constitution in 1894. Documentation of the trial proceedings and evidence presented in capital cases is found in the records on appeal ("cases") of the Court of Appeals [series J2002, described above]. Some information on the status of appeals by persons convicted of a capital crime is found in records relating to the execution of sentences of death at Sing Sing Correctional Facility at Ossining.
B0147 Admission Registers for Prisoners to be Executed, 1891-1946 (2 vols.); B1242 Log of Actions Relating to Inmates Awaiting Execution, 1892-1907 (1 vol.); B1244 Log of Actions Relating to Inmates Scheduled for Execution, 1915-1967 (2 vols.)
Together these registers and log books contain a chronological summary record of all prisoners received at Sing Sing Prison who were sentenced to death. The earliest log book contains only brief information on the prisoner. Commencing 1907 the log books contain summary data on the personal and criminal history of each prisoner; and on the appeal and execution proceedings.
Access and Restrictions: These registers and logs are available to the public without restriction.
B0145 Case Files of Inmates Sentenced to Electrocution, 1939-1963 (15 cu. ft.) Restricted.
These files from Sing Sing Correctional Facility at Ossining contain personal, medical, and legal documentation on persons sentenced to death. Documents in the files include the warrant of execution, admission form, parole investigation report, correspondence, medical reports, notices on the status of the appeal to the Court of Appeals, documents relating to the execution of sentence, etc.
Access and Restrictions: The files are arranged by date of execution. Portions of the files are restricted pursuant to the Correction Law; regulations of the Commissioner of Correctional Services, 7 NYCRR Part 5; and a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Correctional Services and the State Archives.
NOTE: A booklet published by the Ossining Historical Society, Sing Sing Prison Electrocutions, 1891-1963 (Ossining: ca. 1988), contains a summary chronological list of all persons executed at Sing Sing prison. (Prior to 1891 executions were carried out by county sheriffs, usually in the grounds of the jail.)
