Town of Ulster

TOWN OF ULSTER TAKES OVER TICKET PROSECUTIONS:

Local taxpayers will foot the bill for two town attorneys to prosecute traffic cases after state police instituted a policy prohibiting troopers from plea-bargaining infractions.

Supervisor Nick Woerner said the $20,000 a year it will likely cost to assign Town Attorney Andrew Zweben and Special Town Attorney Kevin Bryant to prosecute the cases will be offset by savings the town will realize through plea-bargaining to avoid trials.

In most smaller municipalities, the arresting officers also serve as prosecutor in traffic court. As of Sept. 1, the state police began prohibiting troopers from bargaining with motorists for reduced charges on tickets they issue. That means the previously common practice of pre-court negotiations between troopers and ticketed motorists has ended.

During those sessions, a trooper could offer to reduce a speeding ticket, for example, to a charge of failure to obey a traffic device.

While the policy is seen as saving the state police money, it has sparked numerous disruptions of justice courts, forcing defendants, troopers, and justices to go to trial, Woerner said.

The supervisor said the town would generate more revenue if a motorist pleads guilty to a lesser charge, because a bigger share of the penalty goes to town coffers and not the state.