For Immediate Release
June 18, 2012

Town of Greece Seeks Creation of Fourth Town Justice

The Town of Greece will seek voter approval for the creation of a fourth Town Justice; the measure will appear as a ballot initiative in the November’s election.

“The Greece Town Court system has seen a steady increase in cases since the last Town Justice was added in 1982,” said Greece Supervisor John Auberger. “Adding an additional Town Justice will allow us to better serve the public and insure the town judicial system continues to operate in a fair and efficient manner.”

In 1990, the Greece Town Court handled a total of 10,825 cases, 1798 of which were penal law violations. In 2011, the court handled over 18,000 cases with 2735 penal law violations, making the Greece Court system the 7th largest town court in New York State.

“Adding a fourth Judge will reduce the time it takes to bring cases to a conclusion and bring justice to crime victims,” said Councilman Kirk Morris.

“The reality is we have more police officers on the streets making more arrests,” said Chief Todd Baxter. “A fourth Town Justice would compliment their work by expediting the issuance of search warrants and the arraignment of suspects, allowing officers to get back on the road more quickly.”

If the measure is approved by Greece voters in the November 2012, an election for a new judge would take place in November 2013, with the new judge scheduled to take office on January 1, 2014.