Upstate Court Directories

County
Orange
Address
99 Town Drive, Bldg.B, Middletown, NY 10940
Phone
(845) 692-7822
Fax
(845) 692-7816
Court Calendar
Monday , Tuesday, Wed., Thursday & Friday
Traffic Tickets
Prosecuted by Special Town Prosecutor (State Police) or local officers.
Criminal Prosecutions
Orange County District Attorney's Office
Judges
Hon. Joseph Owen, Hon. Peter Green & Hon. Patrick Owen

Wallkill, NY Town Court

Traffic Enforcement

The Town of Wallkill is a large suburban town surrounding the north side of the city of Middletown.  Two major highways (I-84 & Route 17) pass through extensive sections of the town.  In addition, several very busy local roads (Rt. 211) also have relatively long swaths through the Town of Wallkilll.  The speed limit on I-84 is 65 mph throughoutWallkill, while Route 17 is primarily 65 mph in Wallkill, there are long last construction projects that create “workzones” with 55 mph limits (and double fines).  Speed limits on local roads vary from 45 mph to 30 mph on roads through heavily developed sections..  Traffic enforcement on both I-84 and Route 17 is handled almost exclusively by NYS Police troopers from “Troop F.”  There is a state police barracks located in the Town of Wallkill adjacent to the Crystal Run Road exit of Route 17.  Local traffic law enforcement is handled by both NYS troopers and Wallkill Town  police officers.  Traffic enforcement through the main business districts is intense at times.

 

Traffic Court

The Town of Wallkill has one of the busiest traffic courts in the Hudson Valley.  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 somewhat reasonable about plea bargains as long as the speed was not more than 25 mph over the limit and not over 90 mph.

 

Local police officers sometimes prosecute their own tickets, though the special prosecutor generally substitutes for them. Again, most tickets are resolved through plea bargains.  Traffic court sessions can easily last 2-3 hours or more. 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 Wallkill 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 Newburgh Town 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 local 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.

 

Because the Town of Wallkill is adjacent to the City of Middletown a variety of drug offenses are regularly brought before the town court.  Other typical criminal cases heard in Wallkill Town Court are petty larceny, 3rd degree assault, harrassment and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Vehicle.  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.     Wallkill Town Court is one of the busiest local criminal courts, the criminal  calendar can last as long as 4-6 hours.

 

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.