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On the TV show "Law & Order", when they cut to the trial it's usually accompanied by a chiron (along with the trademark "dun-dun" sound) saying something like "New York State Supreme Court, Part 7". Is this an accurate representation of where trials like these would be held? Isn't the NY Supreme Court an appeals court, like SCOTUS? These are always ordinary jury trials. (Considering the contorted logic the prosecutors employ, I expect that most of these convictions get appealed, but the show never goes that far.)

Barmar
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    It is also not unique to New York or the U.S., the Supreme Courts in several Canadian provinces are also not the highest court. However, in all cases, the Supreme Court is the superior court of inherent and general jurisdiction. – xngtng Mar 03 '23 at 11:43

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As described at the State of New York Court of Appeals website, the supreme court is the system of trial courts for serious cases. The highest court in New York is the Court of Appeals. It serves the same role as what many other states call a supreme court.

Gerard Ashton
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    So it's just ideosyncratic terminology, like the way the federal government calls the foreign secretary the Secretary of State. – Barmar Mar 02 '23 at 16:57
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    @Barmar Yep. State governments use a wide variety of strange names. One state over in Massachusetts, we have a body called the General Court, which is not any court at all, but in fact the state legislature. Though "Secy of State" is a perfectly reasonable title for the head of the department of the same name. – A. R. Mar 02 '23 at 18:15
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    @Barmar Generally it's because most states started out with two levels, the trial court and one appellate court. Increasing workload at the beginning of the 20th century led states to add an extra intermediate level, and not wanting to rename everything led to the seemingly flipped names. Maryland just fixed their names, requiring a constitutional amendment in the 2022 election. – user71659 Mar 02 '23 at 19:49
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    Just to make things fun, the intermediate appellate court in New York State is the Supreme Court, Appellate Division. Also, while New York State has a Family Court, the Family Court doesen't have jurisdiction over granting divorces, a function reserved for the Supreme Court. – ohwilleke Mar 02 '23 at 20:47
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    FYI, Maryland higher courts had strange names that they recently changed: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/04/06/general-assembly-passes-bill-to-rename-marylands-top-court/ – President James K. Polk Mar 03 '23 at 02:24
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    @PresidentJamesK.Polk So we won't be confused if L&O:MD is added to the franchise. :) – Barmar Mar 03 '23 at 15:25
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    @Barmar If you're curious, here's an answer as to why the Secretary of State is in charge of foreign affairs. – Bobson Mar 03 '23 at 20:49
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    @Bobson I'm familiar with the history of that, but thanks. – Barmar Mar 03 '23 at 20:50
  • @AndrewRay And Massachusetts isn't a state. It's a Commonwealth. – Shawn V. Wilson Mar 03 '23 at 22:42
  • @ShawnV.Wilson Massachusetts is definitely a state. It just happens to be officially called "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts." When the Constitution talks about "several states," Massachusetts is one of them. – A. R. Mar 05 '23 at 04:03
  • @AndrewRay. I know that. This was my clever way of pointing out that your sentence "State governments use a wide variety of strange names" extends to the word "state" itself - not only in Massachusetts but Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Virginia – Shawn V. Wilson Mar 06 '23 at 20:42