How Many Times Can a Case Be Adjourned in NY?

New York sets no fixed limit on how many times a case can be adjourned. Each request is decided by the judge assigned to the case, who weighs the reason for the delay, the harm to the other side, and the court’s own calendar. A first or second adjournment for a legitimate reason is routine. Each additional request gets harder to justify. In criminal cases, the practical ceiling is not a count of adjournments at all but the speedy trial clock under CPL 30.30, which can force dismissal if the prosecution takes too long to be ready.

Why There Is No Numeric Cap

CPLR 2004 lets New York courts extend any statutory or court-ordered deadline “upon such terms as may be just and upon good cause shown.”¹ That gives judges broad discretion and never sets a maximum. Nothing in the CPLR or the Criminal Procedure Law says a case may be adjourned no more than a certain number of times.

What the law demands instead is fresh justification every time. Courts also track adjournments in their case management systems, and the Uniform Civil Rules for Supreme Court and County Court require reporting on the number of adjournments in certain case categories.² So while no bright-line cap exists, there is real institutional pressure against repeated delay, and individual judges vary widely in how quickly they lose patience.

Criminal Cases: The Speedy Trial Clock Is the Real Limit

In criminal court, the meaningful constraint is CPL 30.30. Rather than capping postponements, the statute puts the prosecution on a clock. If the prosecution is not ready for trial within the allotted time, the court must dismiss the charges. The deadlines depend on the severity of the charge:³

Felony: six months from the start of the criminal action.
Misdemeanor with more than three months’ possible jail time: 90 days.
Misdemeanor with three months or less possible jail time: 60 days.
Violation with no jail time: 30 days.

The catch is that not all delay counts. Time the defense requests or agrees to is excluded from the prosecution’s clock. CPL 30.30(4)(b) excludes “the period of delay resulting from a continuance granted by the court at the request of, or with the consent of, the defendant.”³ This is where defendants often lose leverage without realizing it. If your lawyer consents to each adjournment, the speedy trial clock effectively stops ticking, and the case can stretch on for a year or more without ever triggering a dismissal motion. Whether to consent is a strategic call, not a formality.

A defendant appearing without counsel gets extra protection. The court cannot count a delay as defense-consented unless the judge explains, on the record in open court, what rights the defendant is giving up by agreeing to the postponement.³

When the prosecution’s non-excludable time exceeds the CPL 30.30 deadline, the defense can move to dismiss and the court must grant the motion. It is not discretionary; the statute says the motion “must be granted.”³ The fights are almost always over how much time is chargeable to the prosecution versus excludable, which turns on exactly who asked for each adjournment and what the court record says happened at each appearance.

An Important Distinction: Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal

Under CPL 170.55, a court handling a misdemeanor or lesser offense can, with consent of both sides, adjourn the case “without date” with the intent of ultimately dismissing it. If the prosecution does not move to restore the case within six months (one year for family offenses), the charges are dismissed automatically.⁴ This is a resolution mechanism, not a scheduling adjournment, and it does not count toward or against any pattern of ordinary postponements.

Civil Cases: No Clock, but Real Judicial Impatience

Civil cases have no equivalent of CPL 30.30. No statute forces dismissal after a set number of months. The constraints are softer but still meaningful. Under Part 202 of the Uniform Civil Rules, certain courts require adjournment requests to be e-filed in writing at least 48 hours before a scheduled hearing, and counsel appearing at conferences must be “fully prepared and authorized to discuss and resolve the issues” scheduled for that appearance.² Showing up unprepared can be treated as a default.

When a party repeatedly ignores discovery orders, CPLR 3126 authorizes penalties including striking pleadings, prohibiting the disobedient party from introducing certain evidence, or entering a default judgment.⁵ And once a judge sets a firm trial date after a long history of delays, moving it takes something genuinely extraordinary. Practitioners call this a “date certain.” Treating one as an ordinary adjournment opportunity is one of the fastest ways to lose credibility with the court.

What Judges Actually Accept as Good Cause

Judges evaluate each request on its own facts, but some grounds carry more weight than others.

Illness of a party or attorney is almost always accepted, though courts may ask for documentation on repeated health-related requests. A medical excuse should identify the patient, describe the condition preventing attendance, and include the physician’s contact information and signature.

Unavailability of a key witness or a scheduling conflict with another court proceeding is another common ground. Attorneys juggling appearances in multiple courtrooms on the same day is a reality of New York practice, and judges generally accommodate it when counsel notifies the court promptly.

Settlement negotiations are frequently cited and often welcomed, at least the first time or two. After that, judges start asking whether the talks are real or a stalling tactic.

Case complexity can justify additional preparation time, particularly when evidence surfaces late or an expert report is delayed. The less foreseeable the need for more time, the stronger the argument. What weakens any of these grounds is repetition: a fourth request citing the same reason as the first three invites skepticism no matter how legitimate each one sounded in isolation.

How to Request an Adjournment

Only the judge presiding over the case can grant an adjournment. Calling the clerk’s office does not work, because clerks lack that authority.⁶ The standard approach is to appear at the scheduled hearing and explain your reason to the judge in person.

If you cannot attend because of an emergency, you have two alternatives under New York City Civil Court’s procedure:

Send a representative with written authorization that includes your case index number, your name and address, a signed statement allowing them to request the adjournment, the representative’s name, and the reason you cannot appear. They should bring all court papers you received.⁶
Write to the court, in an extreme emergency where no one can appear on your behalf, explaining the reason and including your case number and hearing date. Send a copy to the other party. The judge may or may not grant it, and you will be notified.⁶

In Supreme Court and County Court, the Commercial Division rules require adjournment requests to be e-filed at least 48 hours before the hearing.² Individual parts and judges may have their own preferences: some want letter motions, others accept oral applications on the record. When in doubt, ask the court clerk how the assigned judge handles adjournment requests.

What Repeated Delays Actually Cost

Every adjournment has costs that compound. Attorney time spent preparing for a hearing that does not happen, rescheduling witnesses, and updating case files adds up. For clients paying by the hour, each round of postponements can mean hundreds or thousands of dollars in additional fees.

In civil cases, delay can benefit one side financially while hurting the other. New York’s statutory prejudgment interest rate is 9 percent per year for most cases.⁷ That interest accrues regardless of whether the case is moving or stalled, so a defendant facing a large damages claim watches interest pile up with every month of delay, while plaintiffs wait for money they may need.

Beyond the money, repeated adjournments erode witness reliability. Memories fade, documents get lost, people move away. Judges know this, which is part of why most grow less patient as the adjournment count rises.

In criminal cases, a defendant in jail awaiting trial bears the heaviest cost. Every adjourned date means more time behind bars for someone who has not been convicted. Even defendants on bail or released on their own recognizance pay a price in missed work, childcare arrangements, and the psychological weight of an unresolved case.

What Happens if the Judge Says No

If the request is denied, the hearing or trial proceeds as scheduled. In civil cases, failing to appear or to be prepared after a denied adjournment can result in a default judgment. In criminal cases, a bench warrant may issue if a defendant fails to appear. The answer to “how many times can this case be adjourned” is ultimately whatever the judge in front of you decides to allow, so the practical strategy is to make each request count and to save your credibility for the ones you truly need.

1
New York State Senate. New York Code CVP 2004 – Extensions of Time Generally
2
New York State Unified Court System. Part 202 – Uniform Civil Rules for the Supreme Court and the County Court
3
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 30.30 – Speedy Trial Time Limitations
4
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 170.55 – Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal
5
New York State Senate. New York Code CVP 3126 – Penalties for Refusal to Comply With Order or to Disclose
6
New York State Unified Court System. Adjournments – NYC Civil Court
7
New York State Senate. New York Code CVP 5004 – Rate of Interest