Unlike the justice system in New York City, criminal cases in Rockland County are prosecuted and heard in many different local Justice Courts throughout the various towns and villages in the Count. In Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and throughout New York City, misdemeanors and unindicted felonies are typically heard in centralized Criminal Courts that are akin to the Supreme Court for the particular county where indicted felonies are heard. Rockland County too has a centralized court for heard indicted felonies, called County Court. But rather than a centralized lower court, each municipality throughout Rockland County has its own local court where misdemeanors and unindicted felonies are heard, as well as certain civil cases and traffic infractions such as speeding tickets. These local courts each have their own elected judges, court clerks and other staff, and their own quirks and nuances. Some of these local town and village courts hear cases exclusively in the evenings, some in the mornings, some in the afternoons, some only once per month, some once per week, and others run all day every day. If you are charged with a crime in Rockland County, having an attorney who is familiar with the intricacies of the justice system in the County, and the local procedures and personalities of the many local Justice Courts can have a huge impact on your case.

These local courts are all universally referred to as Justice Courts, but they can go by different titles coloquiolly, such as Nyack Village Court, or Ramapo Town Court. Whatever title the particular court may go by, they essentially all have the same function. These courts handle traffic infraction cases and speeding tickets, they handle misdemeanor cases from arrest to sentence, and they handle felony cases unless and until those cases are indicted and are accordingly transferred to County Court in New City.

This can create a difficult system to manage for any person charged with a criminal offense in Rockland Counrt, for an unfamiliar criminal defense attorney, and even for the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office. In light of this, the Rockland DA’s Office has Assistant District Attorneys assigned to one or more of the many local courts who typically handle all of the cases out of that court or courts. These local courts include Ramapo, Airmont, Suffern, Clarkstown which includes New City, Stony Point, Nyack, Upper Nyack, South Nyack, Orangetown which includes Pearl River and Orangeburg, Piermont, the Town of Haverstraw, the Village of Haverstraw, the Village of West Haverstraw, Spring Valley, Montibello, Wesley Hills, New Hempstead, Pomona, Hillburn, and Sloatsburg.

A lawyer who is familiar with the dynamics of this complex system, and the unique practical difficulties and complications this network of Justice Courts can create, will be able to effectively guide you and advise you on the best choices to make throughout the course of your criminal case.

This blog entry is not an attempt to substitute for an examination of your particular case by your own criminal defense lawyer who will determine what is best for your case. Instead, this entry can give you the foundation to better understand the local courts in Westchester County. To better understand crimes, possible defenses, and how you can best protect yourself, consult with your criminal lawyer.

The hierarchy and procedures of criminal courts in Westchester County varies greatly from their counterparts in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and throughout New York City. Rather than a centralized lower court, the Criminal Court, as in New York City, each municipality throughout Westchester County has its own local court where misdemeanors and unindicted felonies are heard. These local courts each have their own local elected judges, court staff, procedures and other nuances. Some courts hear cases exclusively in the evenings, some in the mornings, some only once per month, and others run all day every day. If you are charged with a crime in Westchester County, having an attorney who is familiar with the unique intricacies of the justice system in the County, and the local procedures and quirks of the many local Justice Courts can have a huge impact on your case.

These local courts are all generically referred to as Justice Courts, but they can go by different identifying titles, such as the Greenburgh Town Court, Elmsford Village Court, or White Plains City Court. Whatever title the particular court may go by, they essentially all have the same function. These courts handle traffic infraction cases and speeding tickets, they handle misdemeanor cases from arrest to sentence, and they handle felony cases unless and until those cases are indicted and are accordingly transferred to County Court in White Plains.

This can create a difficult system to manage for any person charged with a criminal offense, for any criminal defense attorney, and even for the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. In light of this, the Westchester DA’s Office has local branch offices that are each responsible for handling the criminal cases in the various local Justice Courts of a particular region of the County. Those branch officers are Mt. Vernon, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Rye, White Plains, Greenburgh, Yorktown which covers Peekskill as well as other towns and villages, and Northern Westchester which covers Mount Pleasant, North Castle, Mount Kisco, Pound Ridge, Lewisboro, Somers and North Salem.

A lawyer who is familiar with the dynamics of this complex system, and the unique practical difficulties and complications this network of Justice Courts can create, will be able to effectively guide you and advise you on the best choices to make throughout the course of your criminal case.

This blog entry is not an attempt to substitute for an examination of your particular case by your own criminal defense lawyer who will determine what is best for your case. Instead, this entry can give you the foundation to better understand the local courts in Westchester County. To better understand crimes, possible defenses, and how you can best protect yourself, consult with your criminal lawyer.

When most people think about DWI, DUI or drunk driving offenses, they assume that one of the major consequences of a guilty plea or a guilty verdict after trial is that their driver’s license will be suspended or revoked for a long period of time, along with the possibility of jail, fines and probation. What many people don’t realize, and what is counter-intuitive given the presumption of innocence in our criminal justice system generally, is that your license will often be suspended while the prosecution is still pending, well before your guilt has been proven or you have even had a chance to contest the case in any meaningful way.

One of the ways this kind of suspension can happen is if you refuse to take a breath test, colloquially referred to as a breathalyzer. This can happen in the context of being asked to blow into a portable breath test device, or PBT, or being asked to blow into the larger and more accurate Intoxilyzer back at the police precinct.

New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law, or VTL, contains a provision that clearly establishes that you have the right to decline to take such a breath test that would determine your blood-alcohol content, or BAC. However, that same statute also makes it clear that your refusal to submit to the test will result in the immediate suspension of your driver’s license and driving privileges in New York, provided that you were appropriately advised of your rights and the consequences of your refusal. What’s more is that in New York, unlike many other states, your refusal to take the breath test can be used against you at a subsequent trial to prove your intoxication.

People often ask experienced criminal attorneys, “When I get pulled over, should I blow or not?” Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this question. Your ability to refuse is an important right, but exercising that right comes with what can amount to a very serious consequence for some. If you are ever put in the position in which you have to make that decision, many thoughts will surely be rushing through your mind: “How many drinks did I have?”; “How long ago did I stop drinking?”; “Do I want law enforcement to have this kind of scientific evidence that they could use against me?”; “Do I trust the accuracy of this machine?”; “When is the last time they calibrated the machine?”; “How will it look if I refuse?”; and “How will I get to work if my license is suspended for refusing?”

Unfortunately, you will typically not be given the opportunity to consult with an attorney before making this critical decision. You typically will not even be given much of an opportunity to consider your choices carefully. However, no matter what decision you did make, it’s imperative that you consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney who understands the reality and the context of how these kinds of decision get made, and who understands the complexities of these various breath test devices.

This blog entry is not an attempt to substitute for an examination of your particular case by your own criminal defense lawyer who will determine what is best for your case. Instead, this entry can give you the foundation to better understand the implications of refusing a BAC breath test in New York State.