Fulton County
Fulton County, New York, was created in 1838 and named after Robert Fulton, renowned for developing the first commercial steamboat. It has a land area of 495 square miles and, according to the 2020 US census, a population of 53,324. Johnstown is its county seat and Gloversville is its largest city.
The Fulton County court system comprises the Supreme, County, Family, Surrogate, and Municipal courts. As the county's highest court, the Fulton County Supreme Court usually hears cases that are outside the jurisdiction of other courts. It handles civil disputes with claims over $25,000, felony cases, divorces, annulments, and legal separations. Most misdemeanors, real estate disputes, civil cases involving claims under $25,000, evictions, and foreclosures are handled by the Fulton County Court.
The Fulton County Family Court handles domestic relations cases unrelated to marriage dissolution and juvenile matters, including juvenile addictions, traffic infractions, delinquency, and truancy. Most probate cases, such as will admission, adoptions, guardianship appointments, and trust and estate administration, are handled by the Fulton County Surrogate's Court.
Municipality courts in Fulton County consist of two City Courts (Gloversville and Johnstown),10 town courts, and one village court. These courts deal with landlord/tenant relations, misdemeanors, civil proceedings with claims under $3,000, traffic infractions, and municipal ordinance violations.
Court files and documents that are not sealed by law or court orders, such as writs, warrants, court filings, court proceedings, depositions, and judgments from the county courts, are referred to as public court records in Fulton County. These records are available for anybody to view and request. The Fulton County Clerk keeps records from the Supreme and County Courts, while the clerks of the other courts maintain their records.
Unless sealed by court orders, the following types of court records are typically available to the public in Fulton County:
- Criminal Records
- Probate Records
- Family Law Records
- Civil Records
- Traffic Records
To obtain public court documents from the county, record seekers can visit the Fulton County Clerk or clerks of other courts. Alternatively, individuals can look up public court records from the county's Supreme, County, and Family Courts on the New York State Unified Court System platform online.
