Village Courts

VILLAGE COURTS FADING AWAY:

The writing in the paper is now the writing on the wall for village officials in Cato.

The village will dissolve its court and take care of justice through the towns in April. While the court has been cost effective up to this point, Mayor Carl Lincoln believes the move will save money in coming years.

A series of articles in the New York Times last September exposed inadequacies in many of the state's 1,300 town and village justice courts. It touched off an increase in scrutiny and movement toward reform Lincoln feels the village won't be able to afford.

“Right now we're just about breaking even,” he said.

The state Office of Court Administration is pushing for major upgrades to justice courts that would be difficult for the village to accommodate without funding. The court, held twice a month in the village's meeting room, doesn't even support a clerk.

Though no mandates exist, a recent state Unified Court System report includes strong recommendations for justice courts to provide uniformed security officers, adequate space to separate litigants and court personnel and magnetometers.

“It's an ideal time to opt out,” Lincoln said.

But not everywhere: VILLAGE OF MONROE PROCEEDS WITH PLAN TO SEPARATE COURTS:

Looks like the Village of Monroe is going to have its own justice court for the first time in 23 years. The village is moving forward with plans to yank its ticket-and-petty-crime business from the Town of Monroe and re-establish the court it abandoned in 1984, when it merged with the town’s. The split could come as early as June 1.

Mayor John Karl III started talking about a separation before taking office, then pushed ahead last year when he learned the town had shortchanged the village at least $200,000 in fine revenue over several years. The town claims it accidentally withheld the funds because of a computer error.

Karl met last week with District Attorney Frank Phillips and Monroe police Chief Dominic Giudice to discuss resurrecting the village court. He said Friday he’ll put roughly $75,000 in the next budget – which takes effect June 1 – for judges, clerks, computers and office supplies.

The state is supposed to reimburse the village for whatever funds the town improperly kept. Exactly how much that totals remains in dispute.