What a Monroe County Court Docket Shows
A court docket is the case's running history. Each entry has a date, a document title, and the party that filed it. The docket itself is searchable through the state e-Courts hub, while the underlying documents may be public PDFs, restricted attorney-only filings on NYSCEF, or paper-only items at the courthouse. NY Courts' help page on case information explains the basics of how to ask for case files and dockets.
The NY Courts records help page walks through who to contact for which type of file and what fees apply at the courthouse counter.
Monroe County Docket Entry Fields
A docket entry is short. Most entries are one line. The fields below show what a typical Supreme or County Court docket entry will display when pulled from WebCivil Supreme or the County Clerk's file.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Sequence Number | Order of the entry in the case timeline |
| Filing Date | Date the document was filed with the clerk |
| Document Title | Plain-language name - "Motion to Dismiss", "Order", "Stipulation" |
| Filing Party | Plaintiff, defendant, third party, or the court itself |
| Status / Disposition | Pending, decided, granted, denied, withdrawn, or signed |
| Court Part | Courtroom or assigned justice's part |
| Court Date | Next scheduled appearance, if set |
WebCivil Calendars and Supreme/County Calendars
WebCivil Supreme is the statewide civil Supreme Court docket and calendar search. It covers all 62 counties, Monroe included. A user can pull a docket by index number, party name, attorney/firm, or justice. The 7th Judicial District also posts its own Monroe Supreme and County Court calendars page, which lists supervising judges, the chief clerk, and the courtroom assignments.
The supervising judge for civil matters is Hon. Daniel J. Doyle. The supervising judge for criminal matters is Hon. Michael L. Dollinger. The chief clerk, Lisa Preston, runs day-to-day operations. The 7th Judicial District as a whole covers Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, and Yates Counties. Monroe is by far the largest court in the district by case volume.
The Monroe Supreme and County Court calendars page is the place to confirm a court date when WebCivil's information is sparse. For City, town, and village court calendars, contact the local court clerk directly. Calendars for the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, which hears appeals from Monroe County, are posted on a separate Fourth Department page.
WebCriminal Court Dates
For a pending criminal court date, the official tool is WebCriminal. NY Courts' "When is my next court date?" help page states that if you know the defendant's name or docket number, WebCriminal can be used to look up the case. When searching by calendar, choose "Criminal Court" for the court field. For County Court felony matters, the docket may also be pulled by contacting the Supreme and County Court Chief Clerk at 585-371-3758.
WebCriminal does not show every criminal court date. It covers pending cases that have been e-indexed by the state system. Disposed cases drop off after a period. For an old case, request a certificate of disposition from the Monroe County Clerk; the $5 fee buys an official court statement of the disposition that holds up for jobs, licenses, and immigration matters. For a related defendant search example, see the Monroe County court records page, which shows the WebCriminal search field layout.
Rochester City Court and Local Court Dockets
Rochester City Court has criminal and civil divisions. The Criminal Division sits at the Public Safety Building, 150 South Plymouth Avenue, and the Civil Division sits at the Hall of Justice, 99 Exchange Boulevard, Room 6. The Civil Division notes that financial transactions must be completed by 3:30 p.m. For city traffic, small claims, landlord-tenant, and other local civil matters, calendars and dockets are kept by the city court clerk. Town and village justice courts publish their own court dates; the 7th Judicial District Office at 585-371-3266 can route a question to the right court.
Rochester City Court Criminal
150 S. Plymouth Ave.
Rochester, NY 14614
585-371-3413
Fax: 585-371-3430
Mon-Fri 9:00-5:00
Rochester City Court Civil
99 Exchange Blvd., Room 6
Rochester, NY 14614
585-371-3412
Fax: 585-371-3427
Mon-Fri 9:00-5:00; financial transactions by 3:30
Surrogate's Court and Family Court Calendars
Surrogate's Court runs its own calendars for probate, administration, small estate, guardianship, and adoption proceedings. WebSurrogate provides a public estate-file search where available. For a hearing date, contact Surrogate's Court at 585-371-3310 or the file room in Room 541 of the Hall of Justice.
Family Court calendars are kept by the Family Court clerk at 585-371-3544; the office is on the third floor of the Hall of Justice in Room 360. The court hears adoption, guardianship, foster care approval and review, juvenile delinquency, family violence, child abuse and neglect, child support, custody, and visitation matters. The legacy NY Courts Family Court page notes that childcare for court users is available on site in the Children's Center Daycare on the third floor, Room 300, Monday-Friday 8:45 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Spanish interpreters are available on site; other languages need advance notice.
Common Docket Abbreviations
Docket entries rely on shorthand. A few common terms appear over and over again on Monroe County dockets.
- RJI - Request for Judicial Intervention, used to bring a Supreme Court civil case to a justice's attention
- OSC - Order to Show Cause, an emergency or expedited motion
- Disp. - Disposition, the final outcome
- ACOD - Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal, a criminal disposition that ends in dismissal after a clean period
- NOI - Note of Issue, signals a civil case is ready for trial
- Adj. - Adjournment or continuance, pushing a court date to a later time
- UNSENTENCED - Jail census classification for a person held pretrial with no conviction
Federal Court Dockets via PACER
Federal cases tied to Monroe County go to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. The district has offices in Buffalo and Rochester. Federal bankruptcy cases go to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York. Federal appeals run to the Second Circuit. The official docket and document system is PACER. Fees apply per page and per search; PACER offers a per-quarter fee waiver up to a set threshold. CourtListener and RECAP carry many of the same documents for free as a community-funded mirror.
The PACER landing page opens registration and case search. Federal civil, criminal, bankruptcy, and appellate dockets are all reachable from the same login.
The CourtListener and RECAP archive is a non-government mirror that holds many of the same PACER filings without per-page charges, though coverage depends on what RECAP users have uploaded.
How a Docket Differs From the Full Case File
A docket and a case file are not the same thing. The docket is the index, a dated list of every filing and event in a matter. The case file is the stack of documents behind that list. A docket entry might read that a motion was filed on a date, while the motion itself is a separate document in the file. So a docket tells you what happened and when, and the file tells you the detail.
That distinction guides where you search. To track court dates and case progress, the docket and the court calendars are enough. To read the actual papers, you move to the case file through the County Clerk, NYSCEF, or the court that holds it. The court records page covers pulling the documents, while this page stays on dockets and calendars.
Reading a docket takes a little practice. The status and disposition lines tell you where a case stands, whether it is open, adjourned, disposed, or closed. A criminal docket adds appearance and arraignment entries, while a civil docket leans on motions and orders. When an entry is unclear, the County Clerk can explain what a Supreme or County Court docket line means. Dates on a docket are not always firm, since a court can adjourn a matter, so treat a future date as the plan rather than a guarantee and confirm it close to the day. The court that holds the case is always the most reliable source for the next appearance.
Court Date Changes and Calendar Adjournments
Court dates move. A case can be adjourned for a motion, a conference, a settlement discussion, or counsel availability. Always confirm a hearing date through the court that holds the matter, not through a cached search result. The Help Center on the M floor of the Hall of Justice provides free information about court procedure, including how to confirm or reschedule a date. The Help Center is open Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and closed midday 1:00-2:30 p.m. The phone number is 585-371-3284.
Note: Public databases may lag behind the courtroom. For a hearing within 48 hours, call the court directly to confirm the time and part assignment.