1 Court Street, Riverhead. The easternmost Supreme Court in the New York metro area. Civil matters are heard in Riverhead, not Central Islip. Know the building, know the rules, and know the judges.
Last verified: October 16, 2026
Verified against the Suffolk County Supreme Court part rules published on nycourts.gov, including the Part 33 rules of Hon. Thomas F. Whelan, together with WebCivil Supreme calendar entries and our own in-person appearances at 1 Court Street, Riverhead. Suffolk part rules vary justice by justice and change without notice. Read the rules of the assigned justice before relying on any general statement on this page. See revision notes at the bottom of this page.
Suffolk County Supreme Court operates within the 10th Judicial District, which is shared with Nassau County. The District Administrative Judge is the Honorable Andrew A. Crecca.
A critical point: Civil matters are heard in Riverhead, not Central Islip. Many attorneys are unaware of this distinction, which results in missed appearances or incorrect calendaring.
Civil matters other than matrimonial and guardianship, according to the court's own listing. Many civil parts sit here, including Part 33.
Discovery conferences, motions, oral arguments, and trials occur at this facility. Check the assigned part's rules before you travel, because several civil parts sit at the Cromarty Court Complex instead.
Several civil Supreme Court parts sit here under their own published rules, including Parts 24, 43, 44, 70, and 75.
Some judges maintain chambers in both locations.
Matrimonial and guardianship matters. If your civil case appears on a Central Islip calendar, you are in the wrong courthouse.
Verify all calendars on WebCivil Supreme.
Distance and Travel: Riverhead is approximately 75 miles east of Manhattan. Travel time is 90 minutes to 2 hours via the Long Island Expressway, depending on traffic and time of day. This distance is the primary reason firms retain per diem coverage.
Suffolk County Supreme Court operates under specific procedural rules that differ substantially from typical New York County practice. Familiarity with these rules is essential.
Before filing any discovery motion, you must attempt informal resolution through a discovery conference. This requirement is enforced strictly.
Suffolk County operates a free early Neutral Evaluation program for qualifying civil cases, run on a dual track:
ADR is free to all parties.
Full procedural walkthrough: See our Suffolk County Riverhead ADR Part guide for how the Neutral Evaluation track works, the ADR PC Order timeline, and what must be uploaded before the conference.
Motion calendar procedure: See our Suffolk County Motion Part guide for how motion calendars are called, submission versus argument practice, and what a covering attorney should confirm before appearing.
In Suffolk County, the preliminary conference is sometimes referred to as the "8-A conference." Scheduling follows state rules, with case-specific modifications.
Justice Whelan sits in IAS Part 33 at 1 Court Street, Riverhead, and also serves as the Supervising Judge of the Supreme Court Civil Parts for Suffolk County. Chambers can be reached at (631) 852-2365 or at suftwhelan@nycourts.gov. The Principal Law Clerk is Danielle Mastriano and the Associate Law Clerk is Luann Dallojacono.
Part 33 motions are calendared for Fridays and are decided on submission. No appearance is required on the return date. This single rule changes the economics of covering a Suffolk motion in this part. A firm that receives a Friday return date in Part 33 does not need a covering attorney to travel 75 miles to stand up and say "submitted," because the court is not taking argument on that date. Read the assigned justice before you retain anyone, because the neighboring Suffolk parts do not all follow the same practice.
There are two situations in Part 33 that do require a live appearance. An order to show cause seeking a temporary restraining order or a stay must be presented in person, and the presentation itself is the appearance. The resulting return date is then handled on submission like any other motion, so the covering attorney appears once, at the front end, and not again.
Two further Part 33 requirements catch out-of-county counsel. Exhibits filed through NYSCEF must carry a description rather than a bare exhibit letter, because the docket entry is how chambers finds the document. And no adjournment is effective without the court's prior permission under 22 NYCRR 202.8(e), which means a stipulation between counsel does not move the return date on its own.
What follows is our own practitioner intelligence from covering these calendars, not a published court rule. Suffolk runs a central compliance calendar and a ready day calendar out of Riverhead, and we have covered matters on both. Neither appears in the part rules posted on nycourts.gov, so treat the mechanics below as what we have observed rather than as a rule you can cite.
On the ready day calendar, the court has granted adjournments for trial preparation and has been willing to work around counsel's own schedule when a jury slip is filed. We have seen the court treat the next date as a control date only and invite counsel to propose dates that fit. For a firm carrying a Suffolk file from a city office, that flexibility is worth knowing about before deciding whether the trip is necessary at all.
Because the compliance and ready day calendars are administrative rather than dispositive, they are the Suffolk work best suited to per diem coverage. The motion return dates in Part 33 are on submission and generally need nobody. The compliance appearances, the ready day calls, and the order to show cause presentations are where a covering attorney actually adds value.
Suffolk County hosts a Commercial Division as part of the Statewide Commercial Division Program. Commercial cases are assigned to dedicated justices with commercial law expertise.
Two justices preside over Commercial Division matters:
IAS Part 44 (Commercial Division)
IAS Part 8 (General Civil)
Judge Andrews brings extensive commercial experience to both parts. In practice, he manages his calendar in a practical, order-focused manner. When a receiver or party raises substantive grievances (for example, missing revenue or housekeeping disputes), he directs counsel to file the appropriate motion (an accounting motion, for instance) rather than granting contempt or broad relief from the bench. Prepare to walk into Part 44 with motion papers ready, not expectations of summary rulings.
Commercial Part 43 (Commercial Division)
Civil Part 75 (General Civil)
Judge Hennings maintains a robust commercial docket.
All Commercial Division cases in Suffolk County follow the Statewide Commercial Division Rules. These rules are enforced uniformly across all jurisdictions. The Suffolk threshold is $100,000.
For procedural detail, see the Commercial Division Playbook. For the causes of action that travel through the Commercial Division, see Business Disputes, Breach of Contract, Partnership and LLC Disputes, and Shareholder Disputes.
The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson provides comprehensive per diem coverage for civil litigation matters at Suffolk County Supreme Court. Our network includes experienced Long Island practitioners with deep knowledge of Suffolk County procedures and the judges.
Senior Network Attorney: Our Suffolk County coverage is handled by a senior network attorney with extensive Long Island Supreme Court experience. This ensures consistency, professional representation, and familiarity with local judges and procedures.
Flat-rate per diem coverage for Discovery and Compliance Conferences, motion appearances, Orders to Show Cause, EBTs (half or full day), 50-H property examinations, and interpreter add-ons. Rates quoted on confirmation.
Book a Suffolk County Supreme Court appearance or discuss your per diem coverage needs.
The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson, 160 Broadway, Suite 500, New York, NY 10038, provides per diem coverage at Suffolk County Supreme Court, 1 Court Street in Riverhead, including conferences, motions, and depositions. A written report follows every appearance by end of business. Call 212-233-0666 or text 917-686-3827 to book an appearance.
Yes. Suffolk County requires an attempt at informal resolution through a discovery conference before any discovery motion is filed, and the requirement is enforced strictly.
The ADR Preliminary Conference Order issued in the case sets the limited discovery to be exchanged before the Neutral Evaluation session, and the court does not publish a county-wide document list. In the sessions our office has covered, the neutral worked from the Bill of Particulars and the police report, so confirm both are on file when booking coverage.
Call 212-233-0666 or text 917-686-3827 with the caption, index number, part, and date. Same-day booking is often available for Riverhead appearances.
Reference profiles for the Suffolk County Supreme Court bench: part assignments, rules, and civil docket notes. See our Suffolk County judge profiles or browse the full court intelligence hub.