In 2019, the New York Court of Appeals decided 2,493 criminal leave applications, granting leave to appeal in only 34 of them. Clerk’s Annual Report for 2022, Appendix 7. During the next three years, the number of criminal leave applications assigned and decided dropped dramatically, by over 1,000, to 1,474 in 2022 (some of that decline may be due to COVID), but leave to appeal was granted in virtually the same number of cases, 33. Ibid.

While the numbers of leave granted appear the same, the percentages of applications granted tell another story. In 2019, only 1.36% of the applications were granted, while in 2022 that percentage increased to 2.24%. The increase in the number of criminal appeals heard and decided is welcome.