Essex Town Court
2313 Main Street
Essex, NY 12936
(518)-963-4287

Craig W. Jackson                                                                                               Laura B. Carson
Town Justice                                                                                                             Court Clerk

2020 Annual Report

This Annual Report has been created to provide you with a summary and narrative of the events that took place this past year as they relate to the Essex Town Court. My goal is to provide you with such a report each year so that you can know more of what transpired in the antecedent year, as well as provide a mechanism to make comparisons and observe trends to Court activity.

2020 brought many challenges to the Essex Town Court.  Primarily because of COVID-19, Court functions came to a standstill for almost 3 months; and Law Enforcement did not issue any traffic violations from February 20th to May 19th in the Town of Essex.  Additionally, the once-in-a-generation NYS Criminal Justice Reform Legislation has certainly changed the way justice courts: perform arraignments, set bail, and remand to jail.

The Court upgraded all its computers issued through the Unified Court System (UCS), and a grant has been submitted to the Justice Court Assistance Program (JCAP) to replace the Court entrance with a handicapped accessible door.

The Court has collected $6,715 in fines and fees, and has $2,847 in fines and fees outstanding.  Work is ongoing to collect the outstanding fines and fees, and the Court has several methods to ensure that payments will be received.

In 2020 there were a total of 96 tickets or summons that were issued to 66 individuals. Here is the breakdown:

• Driving while intoxicated: 3
• Fish and game violations: 5
• Felony arrests: 3
• Misdemeanor arrest: 17
• Order of protection: 1
• Traffic violations: 67

The Court also presided over 3 civil proceedings (small claims), and performed the solemnization of 3 marriages.

Additionally, the Essex Town Court took a major lead in 2020 by serving as one of 5 Courts that handled all felony arraignments remotely for the 19 Courts in Essex County.  This program is called Virtual Centralized Arraignment (V-CAP). Here is the breakdown of the activity the Essex Town Court provided for Essex County through V-CAP.

• Felony arrests:9
• Orders of protection: 6
• Remanded to jail: 3

Respectfully Submitted,
Hon. Craig W. Jackson
Essex Town Justice