Methodology

How we analyze New York criminal court data

Data Source

All data comes from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) Pretrial Release Data. This public dataset contains records of criminal cases processed through New York's court system. We analyze records from 2019–2024 across all 62 New York counties — covering every county in the state, from the five boroughs of New York City to rural upstate communities.

Charge Categorization

Charges are categorized by matching the statute prefix in each record to the corresponding section of New York law. Penal Law charges (PL) are mapped to categories like Assault, Larceny, Drug Possession, and Burglary based on the article and section number. Vehicle and Traffic Law charges (VTL) are mapped separately, with DWI offenses (VTL 1192) receiving their own category. This statute prefix matching allows us to group related charges and compute meaningful aggregate statistics.

Disposition Mapping

Case dispositions from the DCJS data are mapped to standardized outcome categories:

  • Dismissed: Cases where charges were dismissed, declined to prosecute, or otherwise terminated without a conviction — including adjournments in contemplation of dismissal (ACD)
  • Convicted: Cases resulting in a guilty plea or guilty verdict at trial
  • Other: Cases with outcomes that don't clearly fall into dismissed or convicted categories, including cases still pending or with administrative dispositions

What We Measure

Dismissal Rate: The percentage of resolved cases where charges were dismissed. A dismissed case means the charges were dropped or the case was otherwise terminated without a conviction.

Conviction Rate: The percentage of resolved cases resulting in a guilty plea or guilty verdict at trial.

Case Duration: Days from arraignment date to disposition date. We report the median (middle value) and the P25–P75 range (middle 50% of cases).

Agency Statistics: For each law enforcement agency with sufficient case volume, we compute case dismissal rates and compare them to the county average.

Bail & Demographics

The DCJS Pretrial Release Data includes bail-related fields (bail set, bail type, release status) and demographic information (age, gender, race/ethnicity). We use bail data to provide context on pretrial detention patterns by charge and county. Demographic data is used only in aggregate to identify potential disparities in case outcomes — we never publish individual-level demographic information.

What We Don't Do

  • We never publish individual defendant names or case details
  • We do not predict outcomes or provide legal advice
  • We do not access sealed or restricted records
  • We do not analyze demographic data for individual pages (aggregate only)

Why Multi-Year Data Matters

Criminal court outcomes are shaped by structural factors — judicial temperament, prosecutorial policy, local defense bar culture, and statutory sentencing guidelines — that evolve slowly over time. New York's bail reform laws (effective January 2020, with subsequent amendments) significantly changed pretrial practices. Our 2019–2024 dataset captures both the pre-reform baseline and post-reform patterns, providing a comprehensive view of how counties adapted to these changes.

A county with a 40% dismissal rate for DWI cases across six years of data is far more informative than a single month's snapshot. These patterns help defendants and attorneys understand the landscape they're working within.

Geographic Coverage

We cover all 62 counties in New York State. This includes the five New York City boroughs (New York/Manhattan, Kings/Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Richmond/Staten Island), suburban counties (Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland), and all upstate counties. Each county page reflects the specific courts and agencies operating in that jurisdiction.

Limitations

  • Statistics reflect historical patterns and do not guarantee future outcomes
  • Data may include cases under appeal or with pending motions
  • Agency name matching is approximate (same agency name = same agency within county)
  • DCJS data may not capture all case outcomes, particularly for cases transferred between jurisdictions
  • New York's bail reform (2020) and subsequent amendments may affect trend analysis across the full date range
  • We require a minimum case threshold to generate statistics for any page

About Our Data Team

Our analysis is conducted by a team with experience in public records research, statistical analysis, and legal data systems. We apply rigorous data processing standards to ensure accuracy and consistency across all 62 counties. Our work is informed by published research on criminal justice outcomes, bail reform impacts, and court system administration in New York State.

Data Processing Pipeline

Every statistic on NewYorkCourtFile.com is produced through a five-step pipeline:

  1. Acquisition: DCJS Pretrial Release Data files are obtained for calendar years 2019 through 2024, covering all arraignment-level case records across New York State.
  2. Normalization: Raw records are validated against 62 known NY counties, charge codes are cleaned, and date fields are standardized. Records with missing or invalid county designations are excluded.
  3. Outcome Mapping: Case dispositions are mapped to four standardized categories — dismissed, convicted, acquitted, and YO adjudication — using the DCJS disposition taxonomy. Pending cases and family court removals are excluded from rate calculations.
  4. Aggregation: Pre-computed statistics are generated for every charge-by-county combination, agency, and court meeting the minimum threshold of 20 cases. This includes dismissal rates, conviction rates, median case duration, bail patterns, sentencing breakdowns, and charge reduction flows.
  5. Validation: Aggregate counts are cross-checked against known totals. Pages are reviewed for statistical consistency, and outlier values are flagged for manual review before publication.

Temporal Coverage

Our dataset spans 2019 through 2024 — a period of significant change in New York criminal justice:

  • 2019 (baseline): The last full year before bail reform. Provides a pre-reform reference point for pretrial detention patterns and case outcomes.
  • 2020 (reform year): New York's bail reform law took effect January 1, 2020, eliminating cash bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. Amendments in April 2020 expanded judicial discretion for certain charges.
  • 2021–2022 (amendments): Additional legislative amendments in 2022 further adjusted bail-eligible offenses, particularly for repeat offenders and certain gun charges.
  • 2023–2024 (stabilization): Post-amendment data shows how counties adapted to the final legislative framework. Outcome patterns during this period reflect the current operating environment of New York courts.

This six-year window provides sufficient depth to identify stable patterns while capturing the most significant policy change in recent New York criminal justice history.

Updates

Data was last refreshed in March 2026. We plan to update the database as new DCJS records become available.