Senator Morahan Announces State Grants For Orange And Rockland County Justice Courts

(ALBANY) State Senator Thomas P. Morahan (R-C, New City) announced that a number of Justice Courts in Orange and Rockland Counties have been awarded funding grants under the State’s Justice Court Assistance Program. Town and Village Justice Courts in Orange County will each receive a portion of a $27,954 grant to purchase equipment needed to facilitate their operations. Justice Courts in Rockland will share an $18,631 grant.

"I am pleased to be announcing that 14 Towns and Villages in Orange and Rockland Counties are recipients of the Justice Court Assistance Program grants. These grants will help the courts receiving them to serve the people of the communities in which they sit, and to further the administration of justice. I look forward to the continued operation of this program and to working with the State court system to ensure that the justice courts, ‘the courts closest to the people,’ remain an integral component of our system of justice," said Senator Morahan.

Funded by the towns and villages they serve, New York’s nearly 1,500 justice courts preside over non-felony criminal and motor vehicle prosecutions, small civil claims and landlord-tenant disputes. They provide a significant source of local and state revenue, and their ability to process cases and information promptly is essential to maintaining statewide comprehensive criminal history database, as well as the operation of programs that protect domestic violence victims and keep drunk drivers off the road.

Despite their critical function, these courts often have few resources---reflecting the budgetary limitations of the towns and villages that support them. Recognizing this, the New York State Legislature in 1999 established the Justice Court Assistance Program to provide supplementary state assistance in the form of small monetary grants to the town and village courts. Many justice courts will use the grants to acquire computers and other essential electronic equipment, maintain a dignified appearance, enhance the training and legal materials available to judges and clerks.