How can I find out when my case is on next?

A very good web resource devloped and maintained by the Unified Court System of New York is WEBCRIMS. It will tell you the next court date and part for the case, as well as the procedural history of the case.  It is usually very accurate.

How can I find out what courtroom my case is in?

If you can find your case in WEBCRIMS, it will give you the date and the court part of your next appearance.

Court calendars are posted daily in the lobby of each courthouse. Cases are listed by either docket or indictment number, or by name. If your name does not appear on the calendar, go to the Central Clerk's Office in the courthouse.

What do I do if I missed my court date?

If you missed your court date, contact your attorney immediately, since it is likely that the judge issued a warrant for your arrest, known as a bench warrant. If it has only been a few days report to the Central Clerk's Office in the borough your case was scheduled to clear up the warrant. Bring any documents that might explain your absence.

If it has been a longer period of time or you were charged with a felony, it is especially important for you to speak to your lawyer before coming to court to clear the warrant. Your lawyer can advise you what to expect in court, documents you might bring to court to explain your absence, and arrange to be with you when you come to court to surrender on a warrant.

What do I do if I know I have a warrant?

Before you go to court to clear a bench warrant – especially for a felony charge – you should consult with a lawyer. A lawyer can advise you about what to expect in court, documents you might bring to court to explain your absence, and can arrange to be there when you come to court to clear the warrant.

To clear a warrant you must first go to the Central Clerk's Office in the courthouse where your case is being heard. It is best to go to the clerk’s office when the courthouse opens at 9:00a.m. to be sure to have enough time to clear the warrant, since it can take time for the court staff to locate your case file. The clerk will probably instruct you to go to the court part to wait for the case to be called. It can take some time for the papers to be sent to the court part. Be patient.

What can I expect if I am arrested?

How do I find someone who is in jail?

"Prisoner" is the term used to describe people who are in custody after having been arraigned in court, while awaiting disposition of their case, and people who have been sentenced to a period of incarceration. To locate a person who has just been arrested but has not yet been arraigned, go to [When Someone You Know Is Arrested]

A. New York City Jails

If a judge sets bail at arraignment, or orders a person held without bail, the prisoner is transferred to a jail operated by the New York City Department of Correction. The Department has jails in almost every borough of the City. The Department operates an automated telephone system 24 hours a day that you can call to learn a prisoner’s location: 212-266-1500. The system functions in both English and Spanish. It is easier to locate a prisoner if you have his "book and case" number (NYC Department of Corrections ID number) or NYSID number (the "rap sheet" number or N.Y. ID number). This system also provides information on how to retrieve the property of a person who has been arrested and how to deposit money in a prisoner’s personal jail account.

On weekdays, between 8:30 and 4:30, you can call 212-487-7139 through 7148 to ask an employee of the Department of Correction about the status of a prisoner.

B. State Prisons

People who receive sentences longer than one year are transferred upstate to prisons operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services. The Department of Correctional Services operates a website http://www.docs.state.ny.us that provides the location of every prisoner in the state system. After entering the website, click onto Inmate Locator. You can locate a prisoner by name, but this system is more accurate and quicker if you also have the Department Identification Number (State Correction’s ID number, e.g., 01-A-0000).

You can also call the Department of Correctional Services during normal business hours at 518-457-5000 to ask for a prisoner’s location. Again, it is easier to get this information if you provide the Department Identification Number.

How do I Visit a Prisoner in a City Jail?

A. How Many People Can Visit?

The New York City Department of Correction has an excellent website that provides useful information for families and attorneys about visiting prisoners housed in its facilities. http://www.nyc.gov/html/doc/html/visit.html

Generally, prisoners are permitted to see up to three visitors at the same time. However, the maximum number can vary depending on space and other conditions in each jail, such as space and the number of visitors at any given time. A prisoner is usually allowed up to three 60-minute visits during a week, each on separate days. There is a visitation schedule of dates and hours that is made known to the prisoners. Visits must occur at certain times on specified days. The schedule is given to prisoners, but friends and family can also obtain this information at the DOC website: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doc/html/visit.html

Children under 16 years must be accompanied by an adult 18 years or older with proper identification. A person 16 or 17 years old may visit without an adult but may not act as an adult escort of a child under 16 unless both the visitor and the prisoner are the child’s parents.

B. What Forms of ID are Required?

Every adult visitor and unaccompanied minor aged 16 and 17 must have one form of valid identification containing a clear photograph and signature. A valid identification card must be unexpired. Examples of valid identification documents include:

C. Prohibited Items

The following items are not permitted inside a City jail: radios, walkmans, beepers, cellular telephones, cameras, electronic equipment, recording devices, weapons, including firearms, ammunition, and knives, drugs, alcohol, beverages.

How do I Visit a New York State Prison?

Visiting days and times in the state system vary from prison to prison. Before visiting a prisoner in a state prison, check on the schedule for that facility. Visitors are supposed to be pre-approved and are placed on the prisoner’s "approved visitor list." There is an exception to this rule for first time visitors with proper identification. Children of prisoners will be allowed to visit without written permission. Minors must be accompanied by an adult and must also have written permission from a parent or guardian if the accompanying adult is not a parent or guardian.

Proof of identity is required. Acceptable identification includes any picture ID, a document with the visitor’s signature on it, or birth or baptismal certificates. Contraband is prohibited, as is inappropriate attire. Medication must be declared when the visitor enters the facility. All persons entering a correctional facility are subject to search.

How can I travel to a State Prison?

The Department of Correctional Services operates a free bus service for family members. The service is available for State prisons. The prisoner must apply for family members to use this service by filling out a "Family Visitor Program Application" which is available from either the Chaplain or the Guidance office. The application takes 3 to12 months to process. Information about the service can be obtained from the DOC Family Services Program 212-961-4052. In addition to the free service, a number of organizations operate buses for a fee: Prison Gap 800-734-3733, Flamboyant 718-325-6874, and B.U.V.S . 917-447-2310 (English); 646-234-4621 (Spanish).

More information about family visitation at prisons can be obtained by contacting the Osborne Association Family Resource Center at 800-344-3314 or visiting their website:

http://www.osborneny.org/Family_Resource_Center.htm

What is bail?

Bail is money that some criminal defendants are required to deposit to guarantee that they will return to court if released from jail while their cases are pending. The judge sets the amount, and the money is deposited with the clerk of the court. It is returned after the case is finished.Bail may be posted as "cash," or through a bond. A bond is a legal contract that requires someone to pay money if a defendant fails to return to court. It is guaranteed by the assets of the person who posted it, such as real estate, savings, or valuable personal property. A "surety" bond is one in which another person or a bail bond company – the "obligor" – undertakes to ensure that a defendant returns to court, upon penalty of losing the bail amount if the defendant fails to do so. An "appearance" bond is one in which the defendant him or herself is the obligor. Most commonly, the court will direct that bail be posted in cash or as an insurance company bail bond. Often the bond amount will be higher than the cash alternative, because courts are aware that bond companies generally accept well less than 100% of the face value of the bond as security. Once cash bail or a bond is posted, the court has the authority to order a hearing (a "surety hearing"), to determine whether the bail money came from legal sources.

Although the law appears to require that the judge give at least two alternative ways of posting bail, a number of judges will set "cash only" bail. Unless a lawyer can persuade a reviewing court to change such an order, bail will then have to be posted in cash rather than as any type of bond.

How do I post bail?

Cash Bail

If both the person posting bail and the defendant are in court, cash bail can be posted in the courthouse, and the defendant can be released before being transferred to jail. This most commonly occurs at the initial arraignment. If you plan to post bail for a defendant following an arraignment or other court appearance, you should tell a court officer, so that the defendant will be held in the building for release. Bail posted in the courthouse must be paid in cash; the courthouse cashiers do not accept any form of check.

Bail can also be paid at any City jail, although defendants are usually released fastest if the bail is paid at the facility where they are being held. City jails will accept certain kinds of certified or government checks as well as cash, but there are restriction on the amount and type. You can find rules about posting bail on the N.Y.C. Department of Correction’s website, at http://www.nyc.gov/html/doc/html/bail.html. Alternatively, you can obtain information about posting bail, as well as information on locating defendants and jails, retrieving prisoners’ property, visiting hours and rules, and travel directions, by calling the Department of Correction, at 718. 546.0700. The addresses of City jails are listed below. (NOTE: At present, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens Houses of Detention are closed.)

Bronx House of Detention, 653 River Avenue, Bronx, N.Y. 10451

Brooklyn House of Detention, 275 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201

Manhattan House of Detention (the "Tombs"),125 White Street, New York, N.Y. 10013

Queens House of Detention, 126-02 82nd Avenue, Queens, N.Y. 11415

Riker's Island,.11-11 Hazen Street, East Elmhurst, N.Y. 11370

Bail Bond

If you are posting a bond, you will need to find a bail bondsman. My office can assist you in finding an honest, licensed bondsmen who will work with you to make the proper arrangements (212) 268-7777. 

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How do I get my bail money back?

If a defendant has made court appearances as required, cash bail should be returned at the end of the case. When the case is over, the judge should issue an order for the return of bail ("exonerating" the bail). The New York City Department of Finance will issue a check to the person who deposited the bail. If the case has ended in a conviction, 3 percent of the bail will be kept by the government.  The Finance Department claims that it does this within 2 weeks of its receipt of the court’s order. In practice, it can take up to 6 or 7 weeks for bail to be returned after a case is over. If your bail has not been returned after 6 weeks, you can contact the Department of Finance at 212.669.2879 or 212.669.2880. You should have your bail receipt available when you call, so that you can provided the information they will need to find the case. The Department of Finance’s website, http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/dof/html/bail/html, contains other useful information about getting a bail refund, assigning bail funds, changing the address on the bail receipt, and more.

What if my bail was forfeited?

If a defendant does not come to court when required to do so, the judge may order that bail be "forfeited," or kept by the City. There is a procedure, called "remission of forfeiture," which allows a person who posted bail to apply for it to be returned if it has been forfeited. Some people hire a lawyer to do this, but you can do it on your own if you cannot afford a lawyer. Keep in mind that there is a strict deadline for a "remission of forfeiture" application: you must apply within one year of the date that the court ordered the bail forfeited. If the bail was forfeited in Supreme Court (a felony case), the application must be made to the court that issued the forfeiture order. If it happened in Criminal Court (a misdemeanor case), the application is made to a Supreme Court judge in that county.

An application for "remission of bail" must be made in writing. If you are proceeding without a lawyer, you should ask the court clerk for instructions about how to proceed.

What do I do if my Jail Time Credit or Sentence Calculation is Wrong?

In most cases, the time spent in jail before a prisoner is sentenced should be credited toward the sentence that is imposed. However, prisoners often find that they have not been credited with all the time they have spent in jail, resulting in a later release date. The steps prisoners should take to have the error corrected vary, depending on whether they are located in a City jail or in State prison.

What if I have been mistreated by the police?

IMPORTANT: If you are a defendant in a criminal case, you should consult with a criminal defense attorney any action you might consider taking in connection with your mistreatment by the police.

There are several government agencies that review complaints against the N.Y.P.D. Anyone can file a complaint by contacting the Civilian Complaint Review Board, 40 Rector St. 2d fl. New York NY 10006 (212) 442-8833. C.C.R.B. complaints may be filed in person, by telephone, or by mail. Complaint forms are available at all New York City police stations.

The C.C.R.B. has authority to investigate and to recommend departmental action against officers engaging in excessive force, abuse of authority, discourtesy, and offensive language.

Complaints about stealing, bribe receiving or "moonlighting" by police should be referred to the N.Y.P.D. Internal Affairs Division by calling 1-800-PRIDE--PD , or (212) 741-8401. Complaints can also be made in person at I.A.D., 315 Hudson Street 3d fl 10013.

Recurrent discriminatory practices at the precinct level should be referred to the State Attorney General, Civil Rights Bureau at (212) 416-8000 or by writing to:

New York State Attorney General
Civil Rights Bureau
120 Broadway, 25^th floor
New York NY 10271.

IMPORTANT: If you are a criminal defendant, or if you, a friend or a relative has been seriously injured by the police, you should consult an attorney before making a complaint to any government agency. Your statement to the government agency may be used against you in your criminal case, or may hurt your chances of winning a civil case. We strongly advise against initiating a civilian complaint on your own while a criminal or civil action is pending. The officer you are complaining about will be shown your C.C.R.B. complaint against him before your case is presented in court.

Both the C.C.R.B. and the I.A.D. will accept a complaint that is filed by your lawyer, and postpone taking your statement until your case is over.