New York statute
N.Y. Criminal Procedure Law § 10.20 — Superior courts; jurisdiction
Current through 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17)
Part of Article 10: The Criminal Courts, New York Criminal Procedure Law.
Full text of N.Y. Criminal Procedure Law § 10.20
Statutory text current through the 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17). This publication reproduces the text of the Consolidated Laws of New York as provided by the New York State Senate's Open Legislation service (Legislative Bill Drafting Commission statutory text); it is not the official statutes of the State of New York.
10.20 Superior courts; jurisdiction.
1. Superior courts have trial jurisdiction of all offenses. They have:
(a) Exclusive trial jurisdiction of felonies; and
(b) Trial jurisdiction of misdemeanors concurrent with that of the
local criminal courts; and
(c) Trial jurisdiction of petty offenses, but only when such an
offense is charged in an indictment which also charges a crime.
2. Superior courts have preliminary jurisdiction of all offenses, but
they exercise such jurisdiction only by reason of and through the agency
of their grand juries.
3. Superior court judges may, in their discretion, sit as local
criminal courts for the following purposes:
(a) conducting arraignments, as provided in subdivision two of section
170.15 and subdivision two of section 180.20 of this chapter;
(b) issuing warrants of arrests, as provided in subdivision one of
section 120.70 of this chapter; and
(c) issuing search warrants, as provided in article six hundred ninety
of this chapter.
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