Records and briefs for Appellate Division (AD) cases from 1972 through 2015 were distributed on microfiche. Each case is assigned a fiche ID index number composed of the department the case was decided in, the year of the decision, and a unique four-digit number based on the order the case was argued.
For example, the fiche ID number 2-06-300 means the 300th case that was argued before the 2nd Department in 2006. The fiche are filed in sequential order by that ID number within each department from the first case argued during a particular year to the last.
The case’s official Appellate Division Reports citation serves as a point of access to the fiche ID index numbers. However, without these ID numbers, the citation alone is not sufficient to locate and retrieve the record and briefs. An online index to the numbers is maintained on the NYS Unified Court System’s Trial Law Libraries website, at http://www.ucsils.nycourts.gov.
To use the index, click on the ‘Index to Appellate Division Records & Briefs’ link on this page. The home page for the Index will then open in a new window. Search options on this page include a full-text search for words appearing in the case’s caption (i.e. party names), or the citation. You can also click on the ‘NYS Unified Court System Index to Records and Brief Internet’ link to open a guided search box allowing searches in specific fields such as the citation, case number, plaintiff, defendant, department, and decision date.
Once a fiche ID number has been retrieved, use the Request a Document form to place a document delivery request. Fiche pages can be scanned and e-mailed to you at a cost of $2.00 per page. Keep in mind that while briefs filed in a case rarely run over 50 pages each, the record can range up to several thousand pages, or may not be included at all. If you don’t know exactly what you are looking for, it may be a good idea to first ask for copies of the table of contents.