Upstate New York DWI Lawyer

The Greenfield Town Court has jurisdiction over traffic tickets and misdemeanors committed within the Town of Greenfield, New York. The Greenfield Town Court also has preliminary jurisdiction over felonies committed within the Town of Greenfield, New York. Greenfield Town Court is in Saratoga County approximately 5 miles north of Saratoga Springs. The Greenfield Town Hall is located on the corner of Route 9 N and Wilton Road. It is located directly across the street from the Greenfield Center Post Office. Greenfield Town Hall is a red brick building with a stone apron. The entrance to the court is located on the side of building directly opposite to Route 9N. A small parking lot is located directly in front of the courthouse and is accessed from Wilton Road. There are two handicapped parking spots in that parking lot. There is a larger connected parking lot directly behind the Greenfield Community Center. The parking lots are generally well illuminated. The entrance to the Greenfield Town Hall is located between the two white pillars. Greenfield Town Court is located in the basement of the Greenfield Town Hall. There is a small elevator for people who are unable to walk downstairs located in the main lobby of the Greenfield Town Hall. There is also a side entrance with a ramp for people in wheelchairs. The door to the stairs leading from the first floor to the basement is just past the main lobby area inside the Greenfield Town Hall. The door is on the left. The courtroom is located at the base of the stairs. Honorable Deborah Hopkins and Honorable Paul L. Varley are the current Greenfield Town Court justices. They are not attorneys. Cynthia Havens is the current court clerk. The judges and the clerk of the court share the same office space along the right side of the court. Their chamber and office is well marked. Saratoga Assistant District Attorney Matthew J. Chauvin currently handles all criminal and traffic matters pending in Greenfield Town Court. Mr. Chauvin is generally in court with Judge Varley on the first Monday of every month at 9:00 a.m. and with Judge Hopkins on the second Monday of every month at 7:00 p.m., Mr. Chauvin meets with attorneys in a small office located directly next to the judge’s chambers. The door to his office is well marked. Mr. Chauvin will negotiate plea agreements with attorneys by mail in non-criminal traffic cases. His office address is Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office, Municipal Center, 25 West High Street, Ballston Spa, NY 12020. His phone number is 518.885.2263. His fax number is 518.884.8627. The courts mailing address is Greenfield Town Court, PO Box 10, Greenfield Center, NY 12833. The court’s phone number is 518.893.7432. Judge Varley is extension 311. Judge Hopkins is extension 310. The court fax number is 518.893.2502. Requests for adjournments should be in writing. Fines, fees and surcharges must be paid by cash, certified check or money order. Certified checks and money orders should be made payable to “Town Court, Town of Greenfield”. The court does not accept personal checks. A self-addressed stamped envelope should accompany any payment for the return of a receipt.

The Bethlehem Town Justice Court has jurisdiction over traffic tickets and misdemeanors committed within the Town of Bethlehem, New York. The Bethlehem Justice Town Justice Court also has preliminary jurisdiction over felonies committed within the Town of Bethlehem, New York.

Bethlehem Justice Court is located in the Bethlehem Town Hall at 447 Delaware Avenue in Delmar, New York. It is located across the street from the Bethlehem Town Library on the corner of Delaware Avenue and Borthwick Avenue. The Bethlehem Town Police Department is located in the same building. The court parking lot is located behind the building off Borthwick Avenue. The parking lot does get full and people commonly have to park along Borthwick Avenue.

The current Bethlehem Justice Court Clerk is Karen Creed. The current Bethlehem Town Justices are Honorable Paul F. Dwyer and Honorable Ryan Donavan. Both judges are practicing attorneys.

Criminal cases are generally handled at 4:00 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Vehicle and traffic court is generally held at 5:30 p.m. every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Bethlehem Police and New York State Police trials are generally scheduled every Monday at 5:30 p.m. and on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at 8:00 a.m. The court does not grant adjournments of trials "except for good cause shown".

An attorney may appear without their client in non-criminal traffic ticket cases using a waiver of appearance. The court does not accept faxes.

The court office is generally open during the workweek from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fines must be paid by cash, certified check or money order. The court does not accept credit cards or personal checks. The Albany County District Attorney’s Office handles traffic tickets issued by the New York State Police and all criminal cases.

Part-time town attorneys’ Andrew Kirby and Thomas Newman handle traffic tickets issued by the Bethlehem Police Department. The Assistant District Attorney meets with defense attorneys in an office located in the back right corner of the courtroom. The town attorneys meet with defense attorneys in an office located in the back left corner of the courtroom. Attorneys and clients should check in with the clerk as they enter the courtroom.

Bethlehem Town Court is generally a very busy court. In 2007, Bethlehem Town Court ranked thirty-third in total revenue amongst New York town and village courts. In 2007, its total revenue was reported to be $1,046,807.50. The information in this entry is subject to change without notice. The court can be reached by calling 518-439-4955 and pressing option five followed by option two. The court's mailing address is: Bethlehem Justice Court, 447 Delawre Avenue, Delmar NY 12054. The court's website address is: http://www.townofbethlehem.org/pages/depServices/justiceCourt.asp. It is recommended that you contact the court to confirm all policies, dates and times.

In recent blog posts the Walk and Turn and the One- Leg-Stand field sobriety tests have been reviewed. Another commonly used field sobriety test is the Horizontal Nystagmus Gaze test. Horizontal Nystagmus Gaze refers to noticeable involuntary jerking of the eyes while moving side to side. The police officer will test each of driver’s eyes by asking the driver to look at a small stimulus-commonly the tip of a pen- while keeping their head still as the police officer moves the object from side to side. The police officer will start with the driver’s left eye and then do the driver’s right eye.

The officer is trained to look for three specific clues during the Horizontal Nystagmus Gaze test: noticeable jerking of the eye as it moves side- to- side; distinctive jerking of the eye when it moves and stays as far to the side as possible; and jerking of the eye prior to reaching a forty- five degree angle. The maximum number of clues in each eye is three. The maximum number in clues in both eyes is six. Law enforcement assumes that any driver who exhibits four or more clues during the Horizontal Nystagmus Gaze test to have a blood alcohol content of greater than .10. The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration claims this test is 77% accurate when a driver exhibits four or more clues.

A driver who is stopped and suspected of driving while intoxicated in New York will be required to take a field sobriety test that will most likely include the one-leg-stand test. The one-leg-stand test has two stages. The first stage of the one-leg-stand test is the instruction stage. The second stage of the one-leg-stand test is the balance and counting stage.

During the instruction stage of the one-leg-stand test, the driver will be required to stand with their feet together, arms by their side, and listen to instructions on how to perform the test. The instruction part of the test is designed to divide the driver’s attention between maintaining the stance and listening and recalling instructions.

During the balance and counting stage of the one-leg stand test, the driver must keep one of their legs raised to a point where their foot is approximately six inches off the ground and maintain this position while counting “one thousand and one”, one thousand and two”, “one thousand and three” until instructed to stop. The balance and count stage is designed to divide the driver’s attention between balancing on one foot and counting aloud. The officer is supposed to have the driver perform the balance and count stage for approximately 30 seconds.

The officer is trained to look for four specific clues during the one-leg-stand test: swaying; arms being used to balance; foot dropping and hopping. A driver who exhibits two or more clues is presumed by law enforcement to have a BAC greater than 0.10. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims that the walk and turn test is 65% accurate which means the test is inaccurate 35% of the time.