Clarkstown Town Court
(Clarkstown Justice Court)
Rockland County, New York
Hours of Operation:
Thursday 7:30-8:30 pm Vehicle & Traffic Matters
Address:
20 Maple Avenue
New City, NY 10956
United States
Phone:
Criminal: 845-639-5960
Traffic: 845-639-5970
Fax:
845-639-5910
Email:
courts@clarkstown.org
GENERAL TRAFFIC TICKET AND CRIMINAL COURT INFORMATION
Clarkstown is a town in Rockland County, New York. The town is on the eastern border of Rockland County. Clarkstown Town Court has preliminary jurisdiction over all criminal and traffic related cases arising out of incidents occurring in the Town of Clarkstown. Such cases are on the Court’s morning calendars as directed by the court clerk. The Clarkstown Court has trial jurisdiction over all cases if the jail term that can be imposed does not exceed one year. The office of the Rockland County District Attorney prosecutes criminal cases.
Cases charging the commission of a traffic infraction are filed in the Clarkstown Town Court if the alleged offense took place in the Town of Clarkstown’s jurisdiction. Traffic tickets are prosecuted by the traffic prosecutor or the police officer who issued the ticket. A plea of “not guilty” is required to be timely filed with the court either by the motorist or their attorney. There are basically two choices: a plea of “not guilty” which allows a defense to be presented in the case, versus, a plea of “guilty” which locks in a conviction of the offense “as charged” which closes the door on a negotiated resolution or trial.
In New York, an attorney may go to court on a motorist’s behalf without the motorist having to personally appear. The attorney may be able to negotiate a resolution for the motorist or set the matter down for a future trial date where the police officer is required to appear to testify and the defense puts on their case as well. On traffic infractions, trials are held before a judge or “bench”; not a jury.
In addition to fines and sur-charges imposed by the court, convictions for speeding tickets and other moving violations can create other problems for motorists, such as, increased insurance premiums and a New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Driver’s Responsibility Assessment – additional fines or assessments owed directly to DMV based upon a motorist’s point accumulation. Additionally, eleven (11) points accumulated with eighteen (18) months will result in a license suspension or revocation depending upon one’s record of conviction. See Point Chart below:
NUMBER OF POINTS ASSIGNED BY DMV FOR COMMON TRAFFIC OFFENSES
License Violation Points
| VIOLATION |
POINTS |
| Speeding (MPH over posted limit) | |
|
1 to 10 |
3 |
|
11 to 20 |
4 |
|
21 to 30 |
6 |
|
31 to 40 |
8 |
|
Over 40 |
11 |
| Reckless driving |
5 |
| Failed to stop for school bus |
5 |
| Followed too closely (tailgating) |
4 |
| Inadequate brakes (private car) |
4 |
| Inadequate Brakes (employer’s vehicle) |
2 |
| Failed to yield right-of-way |
3 |
| Disobeying traffic control signal, STOP sign or YIELD sign |
3 |
| Railroad crossing violation |
5 |
| Improper passing, changing lane unsafely |
3 |
| Driving left of center, in wrong direction |
3 |
| Leaving scene of property damage incident |
3 |
| Child safety restraint violation |
3 |
| Improper cell phone use |
5 |
| Use of portable electronic device (“texting”) |
5 |
| Any other moving violation |
2 |