Upstate Court Directories

Title
Town of Plattsburgh Justice Court
County
Clinton
Address
151 Banker Road, Plattsburg, NY 12901-7301
Phone
(518) 562-6870
Fax
(518) 563-8142
Court Calendar
Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:00 p.m.
Traffic Tickets
Prosecuted by Clinton County District Attorneys Office or local officers.
Criminal Prosecutions
Clinton County District Attorney's Office
Judges
Justice James D. Joyce &Justice Kevin M. Patnode

Plattsburgh, NY Town Court

Traffic Enforcement

Interstate 87 (the Northway) runs through the whole north-south length of the Town of Plattsburgh. Enforcement on I-87 is almost exclusively handled by officers from “Troop B” of the NYS Police. The speed limit along most of I-87 is 65 mph, however it drops to 55 mph in parts of the Town of Plattsburgh. There are also numerous “work zones” where speed limits are lower and fines are doubled. Almost all speeding tickets are written for speeds more than 10 mph over the limit. Stationary radar and laser speed detection are widely used. Traffic law enforcement along all of the other roads in the Town of Plattsburgh is largely done by a combination of the NYS Police, Clinton County Sheriffs and local town police officers. Plattsburgh is home to the SUNY Plattsburgh campus, is a busy crossing site (ferry) to Vermont and has a large shopping plaza district frequently visited by Quebecois. It is also on the shores of Lake Champlain and is a busy summer vacation area.

 

Traffic Court

Both town justices have “traffic calendars” which are devoted to adjudicating traffic tickets. The NYS Police are prohibited from negotiating plea bargains on traffic violations. As a result, the Clinton County District Attorney’s office prosecutes all tickets written by the NYS police. 95% of state police tickets are adjudicated through plea bargains with the DA’s office. Plattsburgh Town Court is one of the busiest traffic courts in NYS with more than $1M in annual traffic ticket fines and surcharges assessed.

Local police officers sometimes prosecute their own tickets, though the special prosecutor may substitute for them. Again, most tickets are resolved through plea bargains.  Traffic court sessions can last 1-2 hours. Attorneys are permitted to appear without their clients being present for traffic court.

For more information about speeding and other traffic offenses, click here

To read some Frequently Asked Traffic Law questions, click here.

For information about having the Law Office of Glenn Magnell defend your speeding ticket or DWI charge, click here.

 

Criminal Law Enforcement and Prosecutions

All criminal prosecutions are handled by the Clinton County District Attorney’s Office. The DA’s office takes a very hard line on DWI prosecutions. In 2009 there were more than 1000 alcohol related driving arrests impaired or intoxicated driving (DWI, DWAI, DWAI-D) in Clinton County. Both the NYS Police and the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department made numerous arrests. Most arrests occurred after dark with many taking place after midnight. Police officers assume that many driver’s who are out after midnight have consumed alcohol and or drugs. As a result they are looking for any lawful reason to pull drivers over in order to investigate possible DWI incidents. Alcohol checkpoints were established several times by the a combined task force of NYS Police and/or the Plattsburgh City police. DWI and drug possession enforcement can be very intense on evenings during the college semester. All of these offenses are “criminal” violations of the law and, as a result are prosecuted by the Clinton County District Attorney’s office.

Other typical criminal cases heard in Plattsburgh Town Court are petty larceny, assault, harassment and drug possession. Misdemeanors remain the jurisdiction of the town court, while felonies are transferred to the Clinton County Court if there is a felony indictment by the Grand Jury.

For more information about DWI, click here.

To read some Frequently Asked Questions about DWI, click here.

For information about having the Law Office of Glenn Magnell represent you on yourticket or DWI charge,, click here.