Upstate Court Directories

Title
Town of Kingston Justice Court
County
Ulster
Address
906 Sawkill Rd, Kingston, NY 12401
Phone
336-8853 ext. 12
Fax
N/A
Court Calendar
Every Tuesday
Traffic Tickets
Prosecuted by Special Town Prosecutor (State Police) or local officers.
Criminal Prosecutions
Ulster County District Attorney's Office
Judges
Hon. Richard Alberstadt

Kingston, NY Town Court Profile

Traffic Enforcement & Prosecution

The New York State Thruway runs through a small part of the Town of Kingston, however a substantial number of speeding tickets are issued in the section.  Enforcement on the Thruway is exclusively handled by officers from “Troop T” of the NYS Police (a special unit than only patrols the Thruway).  The speed limit along the Thruway is mostly 65 mph, however there are extended sections in the south and west that are 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 Kingston is handled by a combination of NYS Police, Ulster County Sheriff’s and local town police officers.  Enforcement is intense on Rt. 28, particularly on the W/B section of the road going downhill towards Kingston (speed limit changes from 55 mph to 45 mph).

 

Traffic Court

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.

Local police officers and Ulster Sheriff’s Deputies generally prosecute their own tickets. Most tickets are resolved through plea bargains.

The wait to speak to speak to the prosecutor or prosecuting officers is typically not very long. Less than a 1 hour wait is usual. 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 & Prosecution

All criminal prosecutions are handled by the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office. The Ulster DA’s office has taken a fairly hard line on DWI prosecutions. In 2010 there were almost 1,200 alcohol related driving arrests impaired or intoxicated driving (DWI, DWAI, DWAI-D) in Ulster County. Both the NYS Police and the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department made numerous arrests. Most arrests occurred after dark with many taking place after midnight. Police officers assume that many drivers 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 state and local police.

In addition to DWI and DWAI, numerous arrests were made for Driving While Impaired by Drugs, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation and Driving With a Suspended Registration. All of these offenses are “criminal” violations of the law and, as a result are prosecuted by the Ulster County District Attorney’s office. The DA’s has a general rule that breath tests of .12% or more will not be reduced through plea bargains. However, this is not a hard and fast policy.

The town justice in Kingston Town Court is not an attorney.

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, click here.