Traffic Enforcement

The Town of Newburgh is a large suburban town surrounding the north side of the city of Newburgh.  Two major highways (I-84 & I-87) pass through extensive sections of the town.  In addition, several very busy local roads (Rt. 9W, Rt. 32 & Rt. 52) also have relatively long swaths through the Town of Newburgh.  The speed limit on I-87 is 65 mph throughout Newburgh, while I-84 is 55 mph in the town.  Speed limits on local roads vary from 45 mph to 30 mph on roads through heavily developed sections of Routes 9W, Route 32 and Route 52.  Traffic enforcement on both I-84 and I-87 is handled almost exclusively by NYS Police troopers from "Troop T."  There is a state police barracks located in the Town of Newburgh adjacent to the Newburgh exit on I-87.  Local traffic law enforcement is handled by both NYS troopers andNewburgh Town  police officers.  Traffic enforcement through the main business districts is intense at times.

Traffic Court

The Town of Newburgh has one of the busiest traffic courts in the Hudson Valley.  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, a special town prosecutor has been appointed to deal with tickets written by the NYS police. 95% of state police tickets are adjudicated through plea bargains with the special prosecutor. The Town Prosecutor and both judges are generally reasonable about plea bargains as long as the speed was not more than 25 mph over the limit and not over 90 mph.

Local police officers somtimes prosecute their own tickets, though the special prosecutor generally substitutes for them. Again, most tickets are resolved through plea bargains.  Traffic court sessions can easily last 2-3 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 Newburgh are handled by the Orange County District Attorney's Office.  The DA's office takes a very hard line on DWI prosecutions. In 2009 there were more than 1800 alcohol related driving arrests for impaired or intoxicated driving (DWI, DWAI, DWAI-D) in Orange County. Both the NYS Police and the Newburgh Town Police made numerous arrests. Most arrests occurred after dark with many taking place aftermidnight. 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 have been occassionaly been established by the a combined task force of NYS Police and local police.  All of these offenses are "criminal" violations of the law and, as a result are prosecuted by the Orange County District Attorney's office.  Police have been known to observe and follow patrons leaving local bars and make traffic stops at the first opportunity.

Because the Town of Newburgh is adjacent to the City of Newburgh a variety of drug offenses are regularly brought before the town court.  Other typical criminal cases heard in Newburgh Town Court are petty larceny, 3rd degree assault, harrassment and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Vehicle.  Misdemeanors remain the jurisdiction of the town court, while felonies are transferred to the Orange County Court if there is a felony indictment by the Grand Jury.     Newburgh Town Court is one of the busiest local criminal courts, the criminal  calendar can last 3-4 hours. 

For more information about DWI, click here.

To read some Frequently Asked Questions about DWI, click here.

For information about having the Law Office of Glenn Magnell represent you on your ticket or DWI charge,, click here.