Upstate Court Directories

Title
Town of Clarkstown Justice Court
County
Rockland
Address
20 Maple Avenue, New City, NY 10956-5099
Phone
(845) 639-5960/5970
Fax
(845) 639-5910
Court Calendar
Monday thru Friday
Traffic Tickets
Prosecuted by Special Town Prosecutor (State Police) or local officers.
Criminal Prosecutions
Rockland County District Attorney's Office
Judges
Scott B. Ugell, Craig E. Johns, Howard Gerber, Rolf M. Thorsen

Clarkstown, NY Town Court

Traffic Enforcement

The Palisades Parkway runs the whole length of the Town of Clarkstown. Enforcement on the Palisades Parkway is exclusively handled by officers from “Troop F” of the NYS Police. The speed limit along the Parkway is mostly 55 mph, however there are frequent “workzone” established where speed limits will be less than 55 mph. Almost all speeding tickets are written for speeds more than 10 mph over the limit. Stationary radar and laser speed detection are widely used. The wide and often wooded median creates numerous opportunities for radar or laser speed traps that cannot be detected in advance. Traffic law enforcement along all of the other roads in the Town of Clarkstown is almost exclusively done by local town police officers.

 

Traffic Court

Clarkstown traffic court is very active with all four 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 reasonable about plea bargains as long as the speed was not more than 25 mph over the limit. Local police officers may 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 several 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

Clarkstown Town Court has one of the busiest local court criminal calendars in NYS. All criminal prosecutions are handled by the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office. The DA’s office takes a very hard line on DWI prosecutions. In 2009 there were more than 1200 alcohol related driving arrests impaired or intoxicated driving (DWI, DWAI, DWAI-D) in Rockland County. Both the NYS Police and the Clarkstown 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 were established several times by the a combined task force of NYS Police and Clarkstown police. DWI and drug possession enforcement can be very intense on evenings when a rock concert is scheduled for Clarkstown Woods Performing Arts Center. All of these offenses are “criminal” violations of the law and, as a result are prosecuted by the Rockland County District Attorney’s office.

 

Other typical criminal cases heard in Clarkstown Town Court are petty larceny, assault, harrassment and drug possession. Misdemeanors remain the jurisdiction of the town court, while felonies are transferred to the Rockland 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 your ticket or DWI charge,, click here