Upstate Court Directories

County
Orange
Address
110 Bracken Road, Montgomery, NY 12549
Phone
(845) 457-2620
Court Calendar
Monday & Wednesday
Traffic Tickets
Prosecuted by Special Town Prosecutor (State Police) or local officers.
Criminal Prosecutions
Orange County District Attorney's Office
Judges
Justice Frederick Gorss & Justice Ray Osmond

Montgomery, NY Town Court

Traffic Enforcement

The Town of Montgomery contains an extensive section of busy I-84 which has a speed limit of 65 mph throughout Montgomery (there are occassional workzones with speed limits of 55 mph).  Montgomery also contains several busy local roacs including Route 17K.  Traffic enforcement on I-84 is handled almost exclusively by NYS Police troopers from “Troop T.”  There is a state police barracks located in Montgomery and troopers are regularly moving between the barracks and I-84 on the local roads.  Local traffic law enforcement is handled by  a combination of Montgomery Town, Montgomery Village and Maybrook Village police officers.  Traffic enforcement through Maybrook Village is intense at times as are laws requiring cars to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.

 

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, a special town prosecutor has been appointed to deal with tickets written by the NYS police. 95% of state police tickets are adjudicated through plea bargains with the special prosecutor. The Town Prosecutor and both judges are generally very reasonable about plea bargains as long as the speed was not more than 25 mph over the limit.

 

Local police officers somtimes 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, though Judge Gorss may require local defendants to attend court if they are otherwise available.

 

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 Orange County District Attorney’s Office.  The DA’s office takes a very hard line on DWI prosecutions. In 2009 there were more than 1800 alcohol related driving arrests for impaired or intoxicated driving (DWI, DWAI, DWAI-D) in Orange County. Both the NYS Police and the Montgomery Town and Village Police 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 have been occassionaly been established by the a combined task force of NYS Police and Montgomery Town or Village police.  All of these offenses are “criminal” violations of the law and, as a result are prosecuted by the Orange County District Attorney’s office.  Police have been known to observe and follow patrons leaving local bars and make traffic stops at the first opportunity.

 

Other typical criminal cases heard in Montgomery Town Court are petty larceny, 3rd degree assault, harrassment and drug possession.  Misdemeanors remain the jurisdiction of the town court, while felonies are transferred to the Orange County Court if there is a felony indictment by the Grand Jury.     The criminal court calendar can be very busy and criminal court can last 2 hours or more.

 

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 your ticket or DWI charge,, click here.