Westfield Village Justice Court is a part of the New York State Unified Court System and is supervised by the Office of Court Administration. The operational budget for the Village Court is a portion of the Village of Westfield Municipal budget.
The geographic jurisdiction of the court includes all territory within the village limits. The subject jurisdiction includes civil, criminal and vehicle/traffic matters.
Contact Information
Eason Hall
23 Elm Street
Westfield, NY 14787
Kimberly Stahley, Court Clerk [E-mail]
Court Clerk’s Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Jeffrey R. Thomas, Village Justice
Jerry A. LaPorte, Associate Village Justice
Traffic Court
Traffic Court is held the 1st Thursday of each month beginning @ 9a.
Options for handling a traffic ticket (does not apply to misdemeanors, those must be handled in person):
- Section A: Plea of Guilty, fill in & return to court. A fine and mandatory state surcharge will be assessed and a fine notice will be mailed to the address provided with thirty days to pay. By pleading "Guilty" you waive your right to a trial at which the People of the State of New York, represented by the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed the alleged offense. A plea of guilty will subject you to sentencing by the presiding judge to any legally authorized sentence. You may withdraw, with the court's permission, your plea of guilty at any time prior to sentencing and exercise your right to a trial. \b1 If you return your guilty plea by mail, it is not necessary to appear in court.
- Section B: Plea of Not-Guilty, fill in & return to court. By pleading "Not Guilty" you exercise your right to a public trial at which the People of the State of New York, represented by the prosecution, must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that you have committed the alleged offense. At the trial, you will have the right to hear, see and challenge the evidence submitted to prove your guilt, including confronting by cross-examination the Police Officer or other witnesses who testify against you. You have the right to have witnesses testify on your behalf and you may, but you are not required to testify on your own behalf. The court will determine, after hearing all of the evidence submitted at trial, whether or not the People have proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and will render an appropriate verdict.
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Communicate with the Appropriate Prosecutorial Office Concerning an Alternative Disposition. You may contact the Chautauqua County District Attorney's office as they are responsible for proving the charge or charges against you and negotiate an agreement to plead guilty to a legally authorized alternate offense, including a lesser included offense, or a less severe offense or offenses. Any proposed agreement is subject to approval by the court. Upon a plea of guilty to the agreed-upon offense, you will be subject to sentencing by the presiding judge to any sentence legally authorized to be imposed for the offense to which you plead guilty. The prosecutorial office responsible to prove the charge or charges against you alleged in the accusatory instrument is the Chautauqua County District Attorney. You may visit their website to review their Traffic Ticket Plea Program options at \b1 https://chqgov.com/district-attorney/traffic-ticket-plea-procedure-pdf
Criminal Cases
Criminal Court is held the 3rd Tuesday of each month beginning at 9a.
Civil Cases
Civil cases are scheduled as they are filed.
Small Claims
For more information regarding small claims cases, please refer to the New York State Unified Court System Guide to Small Claimes in the NYS City, Town and Village Courts.
Form to file a small claims case in the Village of Westfield
Evictions
For more information regarding evictions, please refer to the New York State Unified Court System Evictions page.