Municipal Court Bureau
The Municipal Court Bureau (MCB) encompasses City, Town and Village Courts. MCB oversees all misdemeanor, violation and traffic prosecutions in the local courts. City Court is staffed fulltime by nine (9) Assistant District Attorneys. Town and Village Courts are attended by Assistant District Attorneys once per month on a regular basis, as well as hearings and trials as needed.
City Court
Syracuse City Court is divided into eight parts. Judges are assigned to each part and rotate every two weeks.
- Part 1- Civil
- Part 2- Domestic Violence Court and Drug calendar
- Part 3- Traffic
- Part 4- Arraignments
- Part 5- Trial Part
- Part 6- Trial Part
- Part 7- Trial Part
- Part 8- Felony Calendars
The primary responsibility of MCB Assistants District Attorneys is to handle, from start to finish, all assigned misdemeanor and violation cases. Write-in traffic mail received by the District Attorney’s Office is also handled by MCB. All arraignments (felonies, misdemeanors and violations) are handled in Part 4 by MCB Assistant District Attorneys.
Along with traditional criminal case calendars, City Court has several specialized courts. They include: Domestic Violence Court, Syracuse Community Treatment Court, Community Court, Human Trafficking Court, Animal Abuse Court, and Adolescent Diversion Part.
City Court also handles felony preliminary hearings, returned felony calendars and felony dismissal calendar.
Local Courts
There are approximately 45 Town and Village Courts in Onondaga County. Almost half of the Assistant District Attorneys are assigned to up to two local courts for monthly appearance. Additionally, the assigned Assistant District Attorney is responsible for handling all hearings and trials in that particular court. This includes felony preliminary hearings.
The majority of pre-trial conferences for local court cases, including traffic, are conducted in the District Attorney Office by means of a scheduled appointment with an Assistant District Attorney.