The area of criminal law in New York is highly specialized and requires extensive experience in the rules of evidence, procedure and the substantive criminal law. Criminal law in New York is derived primarily from the New York State Penal Law and the Criminal Procedure Law (CPL).

The Penal Law describes and defines the particular crimes that can be prosecuted in state criminal courts, and the CPL describes procedurally how those crimes are handled by the criminal justice system. Below, you will find explanations on the multi-faceted nature of a criminal case. Common crimes are explained and the chronology of a criminal case is explored. 

New York State Unified Court System’s Criminal Justice Handbook: