OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Town Justice Christopher Penfold, who serves as the lone justice in the Town of Dunkirk and as one of two justices in the Town of Hanover, is pictured during his inauguration at the Hanover Town Hall.

Despite lawmakers in higher offices in New York state’s best efforts, a local leader in the justice system has taken a stand to speak up for small towns.

Christopher Penfold, the elected justice of the town of Dunkirk, spoke at a Town Board meeting regarding the state of local courts. Penfold alerted the Town Board of a bill recently passed by the New York State Senate that requires all Justices presiding in the 100 largest town and village courts to be attorneys.

“This is the beginning of New York State abolishing the 1,200 Justice Courts in New York State and implementing District Courts,” Penfold said.

In addition to the town of Dunkirk, where Penfold resides with his wife, Priscilla, the newly elected supervisor, Justice Penfold was also appointed earlier this month as a town justice of the town of Hanover. He also serves as a director of the New York State Magistrates Association.

In strong opposition to the shift to a district court system, Penfold referenced how justice courts are “the closest to the people,” presiding over civil and criminal matters. Penfold stated about 1,200 justice courts across New York state that handle about 1 million cases each year.

Penfold said justice courts “allow citizens to pursue a low-cost and efficient procedure to resolve civil disputes and landlord-tenant matters.” Penfold highlighted that justices are required to complete training every year and must pass a test to be certified. If those requirements are not met, a justice will be released from duty.

Penfold also noted that town justices are on-call around the clock each day in the case of an emergency, such as the need to issue orders of protection or to sign a warrant, like the one Penfold signed shortly before he spoke at the Town Board meeting.

Currently in Chautauqua County, there is a center for centralized arraignment at the County Jail. Penfold is one of multiple town justices who perform arraignments at the center within 12 hours of a defendant’s arrest to allow the legal process to proceed in a timely manner.

“This bill, which was passed by the Senate, is an attempt to take away the right of the voters to elect those in their communities who they believe would be fair and impartial, and who would best serve their community,” Penfold said.

Town Board member Jean Crane, a former town clerk, added that by losing a justice court in favor of a District Court, the town would also lose a major source of revenue. “We count on that court revenue. That’s a big part of our budget to keep your taxes down,” Crane said.

The town of Dunkirk Court, the largest court of all towns and villages in Chautauqua County, handled 3,795 cases in 2023, with a total of $383,213 submitted to the town of Dunkirk. Although not all of that money is retained by the town, as of October 2023, the town had received more than $125,000, according to Crane.

The Town Board passed a resolution in opposition of the bill and of district courts, and to further express support for the current justice court system.

“I think it needs to be kept local and I think we need to keep it in our town,” Crane said.

Newly elected Town Board member Shari Miller added, “That’s why I ran. I want to keep our community a community.”

Penfold stated he was unaware of any municipalities in Chautauqua County that had yet passed such a resolution, but his intent is to encourage others to follow Dunkirk’s lead.