A: Generally, you have thirty days in which to file a Notice of Appeal from a judge's ruling. That timeframe is extended to 35 days if the judge's decision or order was mailed to you.

A: Generally, your appeal will be heard by the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department in Albany. If you are appealing from a support magistrate's decision, you must first file objections to the decision, which are reviewed by a family court judge.

A: If you wish to appeal from a criminal or family court matter, and you are found to be indigent, you may qualify for counsel free of charge. There is no free attorney available for an appeal from a matrimonial matter, except from the portion of that matrimonial matter that may have involved the custody of children.

A: Very. If you are even thinking of appealing a judge's decision, you should file a Notice of Appeal within the 30 day deadline. The whole appeal does not need to be completed by then, just the notice filed. If you do not file the notice within the allotted time period, and decide later that you wish to appeal, it will most likely be too late and your appeal will not be allowed to proceed.