The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2010 Annual Report of Justice 2010 ANNUAL REPORT VILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHTS COURT I LLi dm Nos= - Glenn G. Galbreath Village of Cayuga Heights Justice Patricia Kannus Village of Cayuga Heights Court Clerk ANNUAL REPORT OF GLENN G. GALBREATH, VILLAGE JUSTICE The total number of cases is about 25%lower than last year. For the most part the reductions in case numbers applied uniformly to most case types. In sum, it has been another relatively quiet year without any major trends or special crises. Following the summary of data immediately below is a short narrative about the data and other court activities for the year. The charts attached at the back contain more detailed court data. SUMMARY OF CASE ACTIVITY Case Types 2009 2010 Vehicle+Traffic Law(V+TL) 681 504 (including parking) Penal Law("criminal') 12 16 Civil/Small Claims 9 2 Total Cases 702 522 Total Monies Collected $52, 536 $38,197 Number of V-TL Trials 22 8 Vehicle and Traffic Law (V+TL) Cases (See attached chart.) Vehicle and traffic law matters account for the majority of the Court's cases, fines and surcharges collected and the Court Clerk's time. The total number of vehicle and traffic cases is about 25% lower than last year. That reduction was fairly uniform across the various types of charges, particularly in the two largest categories (speeding and failure to obey traffic control device). Interestingly, and maybe it is only an aberration,the number of alcohol related cases, i.e. Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), Driving With Ability Impaired(DWA1) and Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated (ADWi), dropped from 21 case in 2009 to 5 in 2010. The number of case dismissals dropped but not significantly. Almost all of the dismissals were done in the "interests of justice," because there was no violation(e.g. driving without insurance, later proven to have been in effect at the time of the ticket) or the violation was minor and quickly remedied (e.g. a recently expired inspection or registration or minor equipment violation). Additionally, dismissals can occur when the prosecution and defense together ask and convince the court to agree to a plea bargain wherein charges are reduced or dismissed in -2- return for a guilty plea by the defendant to one or more charge. In some courts, the pressure of high case loads can be a significant incentive for accepting plea bargains proposed by the defense and prosecution. Because the Village Court's case numbers are not overwhelming, case load pressure does not play a role in my determining if a plea bargain will produce a just result. There was a 27% decrease in fines/surcharges collected- $ 52,536 in 2009, down to $ 38,197 in 2010, which is consistent with the reduction in the number of cases brought to the Court. Parking (See attached chart.) Although parking tickets are part of the vehicle and traffic law statistics, we identify them separately, because the administrative processing frequently is done by the Police Department and the Court Clerk without the need of my intervention. Only occasionally do I need to arraign a defendant or hold a trial for a parking ticket. Nevertheless, the Court Clerk must always process the paperwork and occasionally arrange for payment of the fine. The number of parking tickets more than doubled from 55 in 2009 to 125 in 2010. Penal Law (Criminal) Cases (See attached chart.) The Penal Law category includes infractions, misdemeanor and felony cases, These are more serious matters and take more time. Of course,while most of the Vehicle and Traffic Law cases are infractions, many are also misdemeanors and felonies and therefore are "crimes," e.g. DWI, ADWI, reckless driving, aggravated unlicensed operation(AUO), leaving the scene of an injury accident, etc. There were 16 Penal Law convictions in 2010 as compared to 12 in 2009, 15 in 2008, and 16 in 2007. The numbers are too small to signify any trend. One thing to note is that felonies, the most serious criminal cases (e.g. homicide, major sexual crimes, robbery, etc), do not actually appear in our statistics. The Village Court has preliminary jurisdiction over felonies and regularly holds felony arraignments, bail hearings and preliminary hearings to determine if the defendant should be held for the grand jury. Then felonies are transferred to the Tompkins County Court where the case can result in conviction or dismissal. Because our computer program collects data based on convictions and dismissals, and not transferral of cases to the County Court, the felony cases do not appear in our statistics. Vehicle and Traffic Trials (See attached chart.) The number of trials reflects only those held in Vehicle and Traffic Law cases. We had 8 in 2010, which is very low relative to what the Court has done in the past. Last year we did 22 trials and have had years where there were as many as 125. I cannot say why our numbers have dropped. We do not collect data on the number of civil or Penal Law trials notwithstanding their often being more lengthy. Again this is a function of the computer program. -3- Civil and Small Claims Cases (See attached chart.) Although both the civil and small claims categories concern non-criminal and non-vehicle and traffic matters, the "Civil Docket" is technically different from "Small Claims." Both have the same maximum monetary jurisdiction of$3,000, but the Small Claims cases use an expedited procedure that is simpler, less expensive and more accessible to non-lawyer parties. Civil and Small Claims cases make up the smallest number of cases (2 in 2010)but include subject matter of importance to the parties, e.g. landlord-tenant matters, consumer transactions, contract disputes over bills for professional services, etc. These cases tend to be time consuming and often result in longer trials and written opinions. The Court routinely refers the parties to the Community Dispute Resolution Center for mediation, but does not delay the court proceedings while mediation is being considered or used. Other activities We do not include in any of the data reports: late night arraignments, search warrant requests, pretrial hearings, status conferences, motion arguments, orders of protection, declarations of delinquency, felony preliminary hearings, hearings on violations of probation, or sentencings. All are time consuming and important activities, but collecting the data on them is not automatic by our computer. Patricia Kannus, the Court Clerk, attended clerkship refresher training sessions in 2010. I completed the required two days of Advanced Continuing Judicial Education Program for town and village justices. In addition, I made eight presentations on a variety of topics to new and experienced judges as part of the mandatory training for town and village justices. I am also one of the senior faculty for the New York State Office of Justice Court Support which is responsible for the initial and continuing legal education of all New York State town and village justices. For the first four months of 20 10, 1 was the Acting Town of Lansing Justice. I presided one to three times a week in Lansing until the newly appointed justice in the Town of Lansing(David Banfield) completed his initial training in May, 2010. It was a busy period, but it did not interfere with my position in the Village. We received funding from the State of New York under the Justice Court Assistance Program with which we purchased six large filing cabinets for the Court office. Prior to that time, the office was simply chaotic. It now is dramatically better organized and much more efficient. We also made application to the Justice Court Assistance Program for several items of a more substantial and ambitious nature. We sought funding to pay for a portion of the cost of air conditioning and heating the court(also town hall), add handicapped accessible bathrooms and a jury/conference/lunch room(all also available to other functions of the Village), and a duress alarm in the court office. We hope to hear from the State by mid year as to the status. -4- Conclusion Should you have any questions or comments about the report, please contact me or the Court Clerk. Further, I remind everyone that the court sessions are held every Tuesday evening at 6:00 PM and the first Thursday of every month at 5:00 PM. The public in general, and you in particular, are invited to observe these sessions. Dated: February 11, 2011 Respectfully submitted, Glenn G. Galbreath Village Justice -5- VEHICLE + TRAFFIC CASE_ S (most are not criminal misdemeanors or felonies) CONVICTIONS I f OFFENSE Generally infractions) 2006 2007 2008I 2009 2010 speeding 1431 164 1351 84 52 speeding in school zone 121 11 it 7 6 stop sign 141 11 13� 3 6 fail to obey traff. control device 1881 195 1661 121 94 DWAI (driv. with ability impaired) 21 10 91 14 3 DWI (driv. while intox. -misd. or felon ) 21 3 181 3 2 ADWI (aggravated DWI -misd. or felony) i 81 4 0 fail to keep right 121 9 31 5 8 no passing zone/follow to closely 9I 31 11 5 1 AUO (aggray. unlicens. oper. - misd. or felony) 1 2 81 3 0 unlicensed operation 14 22 17 14 10 suspnd./revokd. license (misd. or felony) 1 1 unregistered vehicle 7 6 8 2 5 uninspected vehicle 15 361 17 10 6 equipment violation 6 ill 4 2 0 seatbelt 14 141 141 18 I 5 no insurance 1 11 �`{ 0 cell phone 91 57! 71 771 fit other 8 51 16 3! 6 TOTAL CONVICTIONS 538 561! 519 3751 276 I TOTAL DISMISSED 384I 3341 372 2281 218 I ACD (see below) 11 9! 131 231 10 ! I I PARKING TICKETS 951 124 751 55 126 I TOTAL V+TL CASES 1028 1028 9791 681 504 i SCOFFLAWED CASES (see below) 1851 93 91! 48 61 LIFTED LICENSE SUSPENSION (see below) 11 9 6 9 V+TL TRIALS 35 33 31 22 8 "ACD" is an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. It is used when the defendant and prosecutor agree that the penalty imposed by a conviction is disproportionate to the actual offense,and they agree to conditions which if met by the defendant would warrant later dismissal of the charge. The defendant and prosecutor then must secure the justice's agreement before it can be issued. "Scofflawed cases" are those where a defendant failed to appear or to pay. The Court Clerk notifies the Dep't of Motor Vehicles which in turn suspends the defendant's drivers license until the case is fully resolved. In serious cases,the Court may also issue a bench warrant for the defendant's arrest. "Lifted,License Suspension" is a new fee($70)the State requires when a license is restored after suspension. PENAL LAW CASES (most are criminal charges - misdemeanors of felonies) h OFFENSE 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 alcohol 3 41 alcohol in the park 141 1 assault aggravated harassment bad check burglary crim. contempt crim. impersonation crim. mischief 1 crim. poss. forged instrument crim. poss. stolen property 1 1 crim. poss. of a weapon crim. tampering dog ordinance 2 3 1 disorderly conduct 61 2 1 1 3 fireworks j fugitive grand larceny1 harassment 1 E illegal; dumping menacing I motor vehicle- unlawful use open burning _ park-after hours 4 51 3 5 3 park-lawn I 1 1 petite larceny 2I 1 j 21 poss. of a controlled substance 31 1 3 3 public lewdness rape-attempted reckless endangerment resisting arrest scheme to defraud 1 selling controlled substance trespass 2; unlawful imprisonment unlawful contact with a minor 1 zoning violation other criminal 1 2 TOTAL CASES 31 16 15 12 16 4 CIVIL CASES 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 SMALL CLAIMS+ REGULAR CIVIL 3 1 31 9 2 ALL FINES, FEES + SURCHARGES (CIVIL + CRIMINAL) s 2006 2007 z008 2009_ 2010 COLLECTED $63,2281 $68,775 $64,597 $52,5361 $38,197 OWED BY DEFENDANTS ; $14,1751 $15,975 $22,1951 $21,775 $23,525