West Seneca, NY Town Court
Title: Town of West Seneca Justice Court
County: Erie
Address: 1250 Union Road, West Seneca, New York 14224
Phone: (716) 558-3250
Fax: (716) 674-0518
Court Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Traffic
Tickets: Prosecuted by Special Town Prosecutor or local officers.
Criminal Prosecutions: Erie County District
Attorney's Office
Judges: Justice Dale J. McCabe & Justice
Judges: Justice J. Mark Gruber & Justice
Jeffrey M. Harrington
Traffic Enforcement
Interstate 90 (NYS Thruway) runs through the whole North-South length of the Town of West Seneca. Enforcement
on I-90 is almost exclusively handled by officers from "Troop A" of the NYS Police. The speed limit along part of I-90 is 65 mph,
however it drops to 55 mph in parts of the Town of West Seneca. There are also numerous "work zones" where speed limits are
lower and fines are doubled. Almost all speeding tickets are written for speeds more than 10 mph over the limit. Stationary
radar and laser speed detection are widely used. Traffic law enforcement along all of the other roads in the Town of West Seneca is
largely done by a combination of the NYS Police, Erie County Sheriffs and local town police officers. West Seneca has a large
shopping plaza district frequently visited by Ontario residents.
Traffic Court
Both town justices have "traffic calendars"
which are devoted to adjudicating traffic tickets. The NYS Police are prohibited from negotiating plea bargains on traffic violations.
As a result, the Town of West Seneca has appointed a special prosecutor to handle all tickets written by the NYS police. 95% of state
police tickets are adjudicated through plea bargains with the special town prosecutor. West Seneca Town Court is one of the
busiest traffic courts in NYS with more than $2M in annual traffic ticket fines and surcharges assessed. The prosecutor and
both judges are usually reasonable to deal with regarding plea bargains, as long as the driver has a reasonably good driving record
(in both NYS and home jurisdiction).
Local police officers sometimes prosecute their own tickets, though the special prosecutor
may substitute for them. Again, most tickets are resolved through plea bargains. Traffic court sessions can last 2 hours
or more. Attorneys are permitted to appear without their clients being present for traffic court.
.
For more information about speeding
and other traffic offenses, click here
To read some Frequently Asked Traffic Law questions, click here.
For information
about having the Law Office of Glenn Magnell defend your speeding ticket or DWI charge, click here.
Criminal Law Enforcement
and Prosecutions
All criminal prosecutions are handled by the Erie County District Attorney's Office. The DA's office takes a
very hard line on DWI prosecutions. In 2012 there were more than 1500 alcohol related driving arrests impaired or intoxicated driving
(DWI, DWAI, DWAI-D) in Erie County. Both the NYS Police and the Erie County Sheriff's Department made numerous arrests. Most arrests
occurred after dark with many taking place after midnight. Police officers assume that many driver's who are out after midnight have
consumed alcohol and or drugs. As a result they are looking for any lawful reason to pull drivers over in order to investigate possible
DWI incidents. Alcohol checkpoints were established several times by the a combined task force of NYS Police and/or the West Seneca Town police. DWI and drug possession enforcement can be very intense on evenings during the college semester. All of these offenses are "criminal"
violations of the law and, as a result are prosecuted by the Erie County District Attorney's office.
Other typical criminal
cases heard in West Seneca Town Court are petty larceny, assault, harassment and drug possession. Misdemeanors remain the jurisdiction
of the town court, while felonies are transferred to the Erie County Court if there is a felony indictment by the Grand Jury.
To read some Frequently Asked Questions about DWI, click here.
For information
about having the Law Office of Glenn Magnell represent you on yourticket or DWI charge,, click here.
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Please note: Information on this website is intended to inform, not to advise. No one should attempt to interpret or apply any law without the assistance of an attorney that is familiar with that area of law, the rules of the court involved and the specific facts of each individual case.
NOTICE: In compliance with the New York State Attorney's Code of Professional Conduct this website and all information contained within should be considered ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.
Law Offices of Glenn W. Magnell
Defense Attorneys for Criminal, DWI, DUI & Traffic Offenses
Phone: 845-294-0585 Fax:
888-724-5470
Email: gmagnell@stormkinglaw.com
No Cost, No Obligation Consultation on all cases
Canadian License? Click here for detailed info on NYS Law and Ontario or Quebec drivers.