Court Clerks in Rockland County
New York runs its courts through the Unified Court System. Each trial court has a chief clerk who handles operations. In Rockland, that means a chief clerk for Supreme and County Court, one for Family Court, and one for Surrogate's Court. These clerks set calendars, manage courtroom parts, process case papers within the court, and answer questions about pending matters. They sit at the New City courthouse alongside the judges they serve.
This is a different job from the County Clerk's. People often mix the two. The County Clerk is the official filing and record office; it stamps and stores the documents that start and build a case. The court clerk offices run the case itself once it is in the court system. You file with the County Clerk, but you call the court clerk about a hearing date or a calendar part.
The chief clerk leads each court office and is backed by a deputy. They manage the staff who enter case data, schedule appearances, and handle the paperwork that moves a matter through the court. When a hearing gets adjourned or a part changes, the court clerk's office records it. Those updates feed the public calendar systems the state runs. So the data you find in a calendar search traces back to work the court clerks do behind the scenes.
County Clerk vs Court Clerk Offices
The split confuses many Rockland court users, so it helps to lay it out side by side. Both offices touch the same case, but at different stages and for different reasons. The County Clerk is the record keeper. The court clerk offices are the operators. The table compares the two roles.
| Feature | County Clerk | Court Clerk Offices |
|---|---|---|
| Main role | Official filing and record office | Court operations and calendars |
| System | Rockland County government | NYS Unified Court System |
| Handles | Filing, recording, certified copies, index numbers | Calendars, courtroom parts, case-specific functions |
| Records search | eSearch portal and counter requests | WebCivil, WebCriminal, WebFamily, WebSurrogate |
| Leader | County Clerk Donna G. Silberman | Chief clerks of each court |
For the record office, see the Rockland County Clerk page. The court clerk offices cover the courtroom side.
Rockland County Court Clerk Contacts
Each Rockland court has its own chief clerk and deputy. They are reached through the court's main line at the courthouse. The Supreme and County Court chief clerk handles civil and felony case operations. The Family Court chief clerk manages support, custody, and related calendars. The Surrogate's Court chief clerk handles estate and probate operations. The table lists each office.
| Court | Suite | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Supreme and County Court | 1 South Main Street | 845-483-8310 |
| Family Court | 1 South Main Street, Suite 300 | 845-483-8210 |
| Surrogate's Court | 1 South Main Street | 845-483-8270 |
The chief clerks themselves are named on the court pages. Thomas Morrissey is the chief clerk for Supreme and County Court, with Alicia Kaye as deputy chief clerk. Tara McCoy leads the Family Court clerk's office, with Sean Farrell as deputy. Heather Barney, Esq., is the chief clerk of Surrogate's Court, with Jennifer Nolan as deputy chief clerk.
Each office answers a different slice of the public's questions. The Supreme and County Court clerk handles civil index numbers in motion, trial parts, and felony case operations. The Family Court clerk fields support, custody, and petition matters under strict privacy rules. The Surrogate's Court clerk works with estates, wills, and the file numbers that probate matters carry. Calling the right office the first time avoids a transfer. All three sit at the same New City courthouse, so a visit can cover more than one if needed.
Note: court offices keep regular hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on New York state holidays.
How Court Clerks Use eCourts Systems
The court clerk offices work behind the state's eCourts tools. When you search WebCivil, WebCriminal, or WebSurrogate, you are looking at calendar and case data the court clerks help maintain. The clerks set the parts and dates that show up in those calendars. The public can search the same systems, but the clerks manage what feeds them.
The official NY Courts eCourts hub gathers these systems in one place.
The eCourts landing page links WebCivil, WebCriminal, WebFamily, WebSurrogate, eTrack, and NYSCEF. For full search steps across these tools, see the Rockland County court records page. To find a hearing date, the court dockets page covers calendars.
Court Help and Support Lines
The court system runs several support offices beyond the case clerks. These handle research, jury service, and self-help. They are useful when you are not sure which clerk to call or you need to represent yourself. Each has its own direct line at or near the courthouse campus.
- Supreme Court Help Center - 914-824-5457, for self-represented litigants.
- Supreme Court Law Library - 845-483-8399, for legal research support.
- Commissioner of Jurors - 845-483-8400, for jury service questions.
- Virtual Court Access Network - 914-824-5613, for remote access help.
- Emergency Court Closing - 800-268-7869, for weather and closing updates.
The Help Center is the place to start if you have no lawyer and need to understand a court process. The Law Library backs up research for any case type. Many people who appear in Rockland courts represent themselves, and these offices exist to keep that path open. Court staff cannot give legal advice, but they can explain procedure, point to the correct form, and clarify what a notice means.
The 9th Judicial District also runs an administration office that oversees the five-county region, including Rockland. It can route bigger questions about court operations or policy. For weather and emergency closings, the court system posts updates through local radio, cable news, and the NY-Alert system, along with the closing phone line. Checking before a trip during a storm can save a wasted drive to New City.
Which Rockland Court Clerk to Contact
Match your question to the right office. A filing or a certified copy goes to the County Clerk. A hearing date, a part, or a courtroom question goes to the court clerk for that court. Family matters route to the Family Court clerk, who works under tighter confidentiality rules than the civil clerks. Estate work goes to the Surrogate's Court clerk.
When in doubt, the court's main line can point you to the correct clerk. If you are searching records rather than calling about a live case, the state web systems and the County Clerk eSearch portal usually answer the question without a phone call. The Supreme Court page explains how the trial courts fit together.
One more split worth remembering: town and village justice courts run their own clerk operations, separate from the county courthouse. A traffic ticket or a small claims case sits with the local court that issued it, not with these county chief clerks. For those matters, you contact the town or village court directly. The county-level court clerk offices cover Supreme, County, Family, and Surrogate's Court only.
Key point: File and request copies through the County Clerk. Ask the court clerk offices about calendars, parts, and the status of a pending case.
What the Rockland Court Clerks Handle
The court clerk offices do a wide range of case work. They are the public's main contact for anything that touches a live case in court. Knowing the common tasks helps you frame your question before you call. The list below covers the work these offices manage day to day.
- Set and update court calendars and parts.
- Schedule and adjourn hearings and trials.
- Process case papers within the court after filing.
- Answer status questions on pending matters.
- Coordinate with judges, support magistrates, and court staff.
What they do not do is set policy or give legal advice. For advice, you need a lawyer or the Help Center for procedure. And for the official record copy, you go back to the County Clerk, since the court clerks run operations rather than the permanent record.
Reaching the Rockland Court Clerks
All three court clerk offices sit at the New City courthouse, 1 South Main Street. The Family Court office is in Suite 300. Each is reached through its court's main line during regular court hours. Visitors must pass through a magnetometer before entering the court space, so allow extra time on busy days.
The courthouse is in the Rockland County Government Center, about one mile from Exit 11 on the Palisades Interstate Parkway and two blocks from Route 304. Parking sits behind the County Office Building on New Hempstead Road. For a court date or a calendar question, calling ahead is often faster than a trip, since the clerk can confirm the part and time over the phone.