The BIGGEST Problem with many
Town/Village Justice Courts in
Upstate New York
In this video, Attorney Mike Cyr explains the BIGGEST Problem handling cases in upstate New York town and village justice courts.
When I say cases, I mean ANY KIND OF MATTER in a Town or Village Justice Court in the upstate region of New York.
There are 6,200 courts in New York State. Of those, MANY of them (especially in the Finger Lakes region) are part-time courts.
What does "part-time" mean?
It means that some courts only meet 1 day PER MONTH. Some have no email or fax numbers listed. Some only have clerks present for 2 hours a MONTH. That makes it very hard for a non-lawyer to get in touch with these courts. In fact, many of these courts do NOT even have VOICEMAIL. So the only way to contact these courts is through snail-mail, but then, you have no way to even contact them to confirm they received whatever you sent.... it's a paradoxical situation.
Those of us lawyers who happen to practice in these courts often try to keep contact info for as many clerks/judges as we can. That way, if we get a client who calls us up at the last minute, we can do our best to contact the court to ask for an adjournment or whatever else we may need for the case...
Bottom line: part-time courts like these just make the criminal justice system that much harder to navigate for an average person.
If you have questions about a criminal case or a traffic ticket, please call us:
607-229-5184
Or find us online: www.ithacadwi.com
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*This video is not intended as legal advice. If you are charged with a crime, we strongly suggest that you consult with a local, licensed criminal defense attorney.
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By Attorney Mike Cyr
