New York district courts

[2] Each contains individual districts for civil cases which are organized along town lines, while criminal cases are heard in a separate countywide (in Nassau) or half-countywide (in Suffolk) district.

They are not to be confused with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, a federal court whose territorial jurisdiction includes the two Long Island counties as well as the city counties of Kings, Queens, and Richmond, or any of the other federal district courts in New York.

[1][2] This subject-matter jurisdiction is the same as the city courts within New York State.

The first, having a "central location", covers criminal cases in all five towns.

The other five districts, having "outlying courthouses", are each coextensive with one of the towns, and have jurisdiction over civil matters, small claims, landlord and tenant matters, and town ordinances.