New York County Supreme Court civil litigation computer is a different system for litigation indexing than the other counties in New York City. Up until 1993, the court clerk made available an alphabetical printout of all the cases filed in the county since 1971 by plaintiff only. In 1993, the clerk made computer terminals available to the public and expanded the system to include a clerk's minutes function and, most importantly, the ability to search by defendant.

Screen A is the main menu for the system. The user can search by plaintiff, by defendant or by index number. All three functions work the same way so this example will be a plaintiff search. Using the right hand facing arrow on the keyboard, tab to the search field and enter the name or index number. The way the names are entered are different depending on what year you want to search. When conducting a plaintiff search, always enter the last name first, then first name. When conducting a defendant search, it is very important to enter the name two ways. For example, to search the name "Mary Smith", you must enter the name "Mary Smith" and "Smith, Mary". The reason being that, up to 1992, the computer was indexed only by plaintiff, not defendant. If Citibank sued Mary Smith, The clerk would have entered the defendant name as "Mary Smith" and the name would appear under "M", not "S". Starting in 1993, the clerk started to index the cases by defendant also, meaning the same case would have been entered "Smith, Mary".

In Screen A, the name Smith, Frank is being checked as a plaintiff. Enter the name on the line, tabbing between fields and press "RETURN". Screen B will appear.

Screen B lists 16 names starting with the name entered. If the name being searched is not shown, you can press (PF7) to go forward or (PF8) to go backward a screen. No more information is available for cases before 1993, but much more information is available for cases since 1993. To view more information, tab down to the line of the case you wish more information on and place either an "I "or "M" on the line and press (PF5). "I" is for the detail inquiry screen and "M" is for the minute book entries. Screen C will illustrate the minute book function and Screen D will illustrate the inquiry detail function.

To view the case file, regardless of the date of the case, write down the index number and the year and proceed to room 103B to request the file from the clerk.

Screen C lists the plaintiff, the defendant and their attorneys¹ names and addresses. Below this information is the "minute book" listing the date of entry as well as the type of papers filed in the case. For more entries on the case, press PF8.

Screen D lists the important dates and filing fees. The "RJI" date is when the parties first asked for a judge¹s help in the case. RJI stands for "Request for Judicial Intervention". The "NOI" date is when the case is put on the trial calender.

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