RESOLUTION
At this regular meeting of the Town of ______________________, held on ________________________,
the following Resolution was adopted by the Town Board of the Town of
______________________.
WHEREAS, there has recently been negative press coverage by the New York Times and local papers within
______________________ County suggesting that the Town court system is flawed
and more specifically, alleging that the three hundred year tradition of
non-lawyer judges presiding over and within the local municipalities should be
eliminated; and
WHEREAS, there has always been a
WHEREAS, there are ______ ( ) Town
Judgeships established within the Town of ______________________; and
WHEREAS, there are presently ________ (
) non–attorney Town Justices and _________ ( ) attorney Town Justices within the Town of
______________________; and
WHEREAS, with their civil and criminal jurisdiction, the Town Justices
in the Town of ______________________ handled many hundreds of cases in the
past year; and
WHEREAS, the Town Court of ______________________ in the past year
collected $__________________ in statutory fines, fees and surcharges on behalf
of the State of New York, the County of ____________ and the Town of
______________________, to help fund essential public services; and
WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of
______________________ recognizes and appreciates the professionalism,
diligence, intelligence and integrity of the non-attorney or lay justices
within our town who bring a specialized experience to the bench particularly
with issues unique to our community who elected them; and
Now, therefore, be it:
RESOLVED, that the members of the Town Board of the Town of
______________________ support the continuation of the three hundred year
tradition of non-lawyer or lay justices presiding in Town Courts, and it is
further;
RESOLVED, that the members of the Town Board of the Town of ______________________
hereby oppose any requirement that Town Justices be attorneys, and it is
further;
RESOLVED, that the members of the Town Board of the Town of ______________________
oppose any efforts to eliminate local and convenient access to justice by our
citizens; and find that the local presence of the Town Court of
______________________ provides a meaningful and necessary presence within our
community for judicial resolution of conflicts, continued public safety of our
citizens and the protection of constitutional guarantees for all of our
citizens.
___________________________, Supervisor: _____________________________________
___________________________, Councilperson:
_____________________________________
___________________________, Councilperson:
_____________________________________
___________________________, Councilperson:
_____________________________________
___________________________, Councilperson: _____________________________________