HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003 Village Court Annual Report.PDF2003
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Glenn G. Galbreath
Village of Cayuga Heights Justice
Patricia Kannus
Village of Cayuga Heights Court Clerk
Civil/Small Claims Cases (See attached chart at page 8')
Although both categories deal *itt norr-.ii*i"ut,i.Jcivii matters, the "Civil Docket" is
technica'y differeni from Small craims;;;;;: B",h have ttre same monetary jurisdiction of
$3,000, but the rur,., *., an expeditea pio."a*e an$ is more "consumer friendly'" Thus' we
almost never ,.. ,ur., nied in tire "civili category. In terms of numbers, civil/small claims
cases make up the r*"ll"u number of cases but include subject matter of importance' e'g'
landlord-tenant matters, consume, ounru.tionr, corrtruct disputes over bills for professional
services. These ,url, i.rra to be very ti;;;;;;u*ing and often require longertrials and written
opinions. The Court ro,rtin.ty refers tft.t. iiiig*tl{ tqt Community Dispute Resolution
Center, but does not delay the court pt;d;;t while the nonlitigation alternative is being
considered or used. The number of these cur.I rrtunges little. m zbo: we had 3 which is within
the normal range.
Fines.Fees and surcharges collected and Those $trll-Qwed (See attached chart at page 9')
The total fines and surcharges .o11..t.6TilG;a L', 2003 we collected $ 59'540' down from
$ 70,176 in2002. it.r. *"u, u small increase in the amount of money as yet unpaid by
defendants : $ 15,225 in 2003 versus $ 14'330 in2002'
Trials (See attached chart at page 6')
The number of trials reflects onry those held in vehicle and traffic raw cases. There is no simple
method through our existing computer ptojr* to collect data for civil and criminal trials' so
those are ,ro, r.port.d. Noido *. i".iriJ.In the figures late night arraignments or search
warrant requests, pr.itiA hearings, motion urgrr*.it', issuance of orders of protection'
declarations of delinquency, revocauons of piobation, ot sentencings' All these activities are
time consuming and critical court uctiuiti.s. In any instance, while the actual number of trials
and hearings is higher than shown t..",1t. ,rrr*ber this year (16) is still a substantial drop from
prior years (2001 i"J s:1. The highesi'u**t number oittiult in the recent past was 124 rn
1gg5. Because most of the trials in th. ilJ;.re speeding case.s, tle offic.ersl increased use since
2002 of the lesser charge of failure to obey a traffic control device, instead of speeding, fl&y
have influenced many defendants to plead guilty'
Miscellaneous
I attended two one-day sessions of the Advanced continuing Judiciar E_duc.ation Program at
Tompkins county community co[ege i" rur"v and in ootober, 2003. Patricia Kannus, the court
clerk also attend'ed clerkship r"freshJr training sessions in 2003. In December, 2003 I
performed my annual inspection of the Tompkins County Jail'
Court Equipment and Record Sy-stems Upgrade i
- copy machine' g.*ur. o* hu"d-t*ao*".opy machine passed on to its reward' we now
share a copier with the village administration and it has made the clerk's work much more
effrcient.
- Computer: Notwithstanding our request for a laptop computer from a New York Justice Court
grant, we were awarded a desktop .o*f..rt"t by ll; Sfate' We are now in the process of securing
the necessary wiring and comput., ,1unJ that wil enabre the clerk to use the computer in the
courtroom during court and also use it in the office when court is not in session. we hope this
fiffi::ff:|!|:J::' because she wiil be able now to directly enter data into the computer
- computer Program:.As reported in prior annrral reports and above, our computer program hasbeen inadequate to collect and report information. riarso i, non-rornpatible with the systemsused by other courts in the county. Thus, we are in the process of purchasing a compatible andmore efficient program. This $5,000 has been ront.mplii.o ro, ,.u.tuL f.uri and will beincluded in the 2003 budgeJ.^ we hope this will enable'ur-io utro stop using the expensive andbulky commercially printed forms. 'ihe records would be retained electron'ically in the computerand only printed out when the case is finished or when otherwise needed.
Conclusion
Should you have any questions or comments about the report, please contact me or the courtclerk' Further, I remind everyone that the court sessiorrr'*r. held every Tuesday evening at 6:00PM and every second Thursday of every month at 5:30 PM. The public in general and you inparticular are invited to obserye these sessions.
Dated: March 6,2004 Respectfully submitted,
Glenn G. Galbreath
Village Justice
VEHICLE AND TRAF'FIC LAW MATTERS - 2OO3
DWI 4
DWAI 4
FL. KP. RT. 7
NO PASS ZN. 3
TINLIC. OP. 29
AGG. LINLICENSED OP.
OFFENSE'
SPEEDING
STOP SIGN
FTOTCD (see Page 3)
SUSP./REV.LIC.
IINREGTD. M/V
UNINSPCT. M/V
EQUIPMENT
SEATBELT
INSURANCE
CELL PHONE USE
PLATE VIOLATION
OTHER
1999
4t2
74
1
19
52
10
43t:
)
2000
403
l4
J
5
aJ
4
13
8
I4
45
36
4l
:
59
2002
311
t4
208
1
J
i
24
4
I
5
50
31
37
1
15
15
721
55s
IJ
t289
38
202
399
2003
148
l0
209
J
l
t6
;
t7
27
a^
30
0
33
20
51
601
461
el
r062
L6
t92
356
2001
435
27
92
10
2
l1
1
23
5
27
51
t4
23
:
5
TOTAL CONVICTIONS 673
TOTAL DISMISSED 536
[A.C.D.3 3
TOTAL V+TL CASES I2O9
V+TL TRIALS
PARKING TICKETS
SCOFFLAWED CASES4
653 73r
592
15
590
10
t243 1338
t82
52
tt799
t49114
2 The data contained in these specific categories reflect the charge on which the defendant was convicted and
not necessarily the charge originally filed against the defendant', A.C.b. stands ior "aljournment in contemplation of dismissal" and means that the People, defendant, and
judge agreed to allow the caseio be placed "on hold," during which time the defendant's activities are supervised
unA7o, iegulated. If at the end of the-time defendant is successful, his/her case is dismissed. If not, then the case is
revived. A.C,D.s are used rarely, and only in those situations where everyone agrees that the mandated penalty
appears wholly inappropriate for the particular defendant and circumstances.a'^ "Scoiflawe'd cases" are those where a defendant fails to appear on a trafftc ticket or fails to pay the fine.
The Clerk notifies the Ny Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and suspends the defendant's driver's license if the
defendant does not resolve the ticket quickly. Of course, if it is a serious case, the Court will sometimes issue an
arrest or bench warrant.
CRIMINAL MATTERSs. 2OO3
ALCOHOL
ALCOHOL IN PARK
ASSAULT
AGG. HARASST.
BAD CHECKS
BURGLARY
CRIM. CONTEMPT
CRIM. IMPERSONAT.
CRIM. MISCHIEF
CRIM. POSS. FRGD.
CRIM. POSS. STOLN.P.
CRIM, POSS. WEAPON
CRIM. TAMPERING
DOG ORD.
DISORD. COND.
DISP. WASTE
FIREWORKS
FUGITIVE
GRAND LARCENY
HARASSMENT
MENACING
M/V, LINLAWFUL USE
PARK, IN AFTR. HRS.
PARK LAWN
PETIT LARCENY
POSS. CONTL. SUBST.
PUBLIC LEWDNESS
RAPE (ATTEMPTED)
RECKLESS ENDANGMT.
RESIST. ARREST
SCHEME TO DEFRAUD
SELL CONTL. SUBST.
TRESPASSING
TINLAWFUL IMPRISNMT.
LINLAWFUL MINOR
ZONING
OTHER CRIMINAL
TOTAL
2002
0
I
I
2001
0
0
2
0
0
I
1999
5
0
U
I
I
0
I
0
0
0
0
0
3
I
0
0
0
aJ
I
0
3
0
I
4
0
0
0
I
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
a-JI
Aa
I
0
0
0
t
0
0
4
0
6
4
0
0
2
0
0
0
I
0
0
0
5
45
I
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
22
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
20
0
5
0
0
I
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
27
2000
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
I
0
0
0
0
0
7
0
0
0
I
2
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
0
I
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
9
0
2
3
0
I
2003
2
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
2
2
4
0
I
I
I
a
2
2
0
0
I
0
5
J
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
l.r."o""ll,?l1|iiHJr"ilff:':r'n:1'5jil::Tigd:*il:::against rhe defendant, rt is possibre that eventuary the
CNIL/SMALL CLAIMS
CASES
CIVTL CASES.2OO3
rggg 2000 2001 2002 2003
40113
ALLFINES,FEESANDSURCHARGES.2003
The figures below incrude the total monies collected for an fines, parking frnes, civil fees, and
mandatory surcharges' $gg 2000 2001 2002 2003
COLLECTED$56,06559,74668'51670',17659'540
MONIES OWED BY
DEFENDANTS
ATYEAREND $ 13,880 t2,730 16,425 14',330 t5'225
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