Upstate Court Directories

Title
Town of Mamakating Justice Court
County
Sullivan
Address
2948 Route 209, Wurtsboro, NY 12790
Phone
(845)888-3038
Court Calendar
Tuesdays and Fridays
Traffic Tickets
Prosecuted by Special Town Prosecutor (State Police) or local officers.
Criminal Prosecutions
Sullivan County District Attorney's Office
Judges
Hon. Joel Welsh and Hon. Cynthia Dolan

Mamakating, NY Town Court

Traffic Enforcement

Route 17 (soon to be I-86) runs through the east-west length of the Town of Mamakating. Enforcement on Rt. 17 is almost exclusively handled by officers from “Troop F” of the NYS Police. The speed limit along the Route 17 in Mamakating is mostly 65 mph, however in both the East and West directions there are sudden drops in the speed limit to 55 mph on downhill segments. The NYS Police are very active in enforcing speed limits in the areas where the change from 65 to 55 mph occurs. 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 Mamakating is largely done by a combination of sheriff’s dept. state police and local police officers.

 

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 reasonable about plea bargains as long as the speed was not more than 25 mph over the limit or over 85 mph.  Be aware that one of the judges in this court insists on jail time for speeding tickets of 95 mph or more.

 

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.

 

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 Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office. The DA’s office takes a very hard line on DWI prosecutions. In 2009 there were more than 1500 alcohol related driving arrests impaired or intoxicated driving (DWI, DWAI, DWAI-D) in Sullivan County. Both the NYS Police and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Dept. 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 Sullvan Sheriff’s Deputies. All of these offenses are “criminal” violations of the law and, as a result are prosecuted by the Sullivan County District Attorney’s office.

 

Other typical criminal cases heard in Mamakating Town Court are petty larceny, assault, harrassment and drug possession. Misdemeanors remain the jurisdiction of the town court, while felonies are transferred to the Sullivan 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.