Arguments are usually heard inside a courtroom. Rarely is the court itself up for debate. But, that's the case in the village of Potsdam, where officials are talking about possibly dissolving the village court. As Caitlin Landers explains, just like in a trial, there are two sides to this story.
POTSDAM, N.Y. -- Should it stay, or should it go? Board members in the village of Potsdam are talking about the future of the Village Court.
"There's the town of Potsdam court, which is used for cases outside the village of Potsdam, and we have the Potsdam village court, which hears cases from inside the village of Potsdam," said Potsdam Village Trusteee Eleanor Hopke.
Village Trustees are debating the option of dissolving the village court into the town court, and they need to decide soon. That decision is based on time and money.
Dissolution can only be an option when a sitting judge's term ends, which happens this November. Even more pressing, the May budget deadline, so they need to know what they'll be spending money on.
Otherwise, Village Court cases will end up here at the Potsdam Town Court. Those in favor of the move to dissolve say there's no point in having two courts...and paying the extra money to keep the village court open. " The Village of Potsdam is not in great financial shape and it costs us more to run the court than we get back in fines," says Hopke.
But, one trustee who opposes the move points to job loss, including two judges and two court clerks. She said the town court judges will just want higher salaries for a higher workload and calls dissolution a dis-service to the community. "The citizens of this community would be denied a right that they have according to the the laws of the United States, really," said Potsdam Village Trustee Ruth Garner.
If the village court is not dissolved, it cannot be considered again until 2019.