Broome County Sheriff's Correctional Facility Inmate Bail & Bonds

A judge settles it at arraignment, the person's very first time in front of a court. New York's court help site puts the usual gap from arrest to arraignment at around 24 hours. Plenty of people never sit in a cell at all. For lots of minor charges, officers are generally required to issue a desk appearance ticket and skip the trip to jail. It lists a date to show up in court, and then they're free to go (CPL 150.20).

Nights and weekends work differently in this county. A 2019 state law let all arraignments here be held in one spot, the jail at 155 Lt. VanWinkle Drive, Binghamton, NY 13905, and local judges rotate through it. The Public Defender has lawyers and investigators on call at all hours for anyone newly arrested. Times for these sessions can shift, so ask the jail at 607-778-2105 when the next one starts.

Weekday cases may go before the judge of the court that got the charge, whether that's Binghamton City Court (5th Floor, City Hall, 38 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, 607-240-4272) or one of the town and village justices. Felonies are later sent up to County Court, 65 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, 607-240-5801.

The judge has to size up this one person and how big a risk there is that they skip court. That reasoning must go on the record, either spoken or written (CPL 510.10(1)). The options:

• Own recognizance. A signature, no money, and out the door.
• Non-money conditions. Freedom with strings attached, such as reporting in, not leaving the state, or no contact with a named person. None of the cost can be charged to the defendant (CPL 500.10(3-a)).
• Pretrial release through Probation. The county Probation Department's Criminal Division supervises people as an option instead of jail, and it can run drug and alcohol tests.
• An ankle monitor. Used only if no other condition would do. Each order lasts 60 days or less, and renewing it takes a new ruling (CPL 510.40(4)).
• Bail. Possible only on a qualifying offense. The judge picks the dollar figure and the forms.
• Remand. Held without bail. A judge may choose it for a qualifying felony and nothing less (CPL 510.10(4)).

Probation works out of the George Harvey Justice Building, 45 Hawley Street, PO Box 1766, Binghamton, NY 13902, 607-778-2121.

There is no chart in New York that prices each crime. Each judge chooses a number for the defendant standing there, and the law makes the judge ask if paying it would mean "undue hardship" (CPL 510.10(1)). Roughly, it sorts like this:

• Violations and most misdemeanors. Release, maybe with rules, but no cash.
• Nonviolent felonies. Release again, as a rule, if the charge is missing from the qualifying list.
• Qualifying offenses. Think violent felonies, defying a protection order that shields a relative, or a new felony while on probation. These open the door to bail or remand.
• Class A felonies, or two earlier felony convictions. Local judges in city, town and village courts have no power to release. That decision belongs to County Court (CPL 530.20(2)).
• Partly secured bonds. The cash deposit tops out at a tenth of the bail (CPL 500.10(18)).
• Nominal bail. A defendant who freely asks for a tiny amount must get it (CPL 510.10(5)).

State records give a sense of how often money comes up. During 2024, upstate town and village justices set bail in 13% of arraignments, and upstate city courts did so in 20%. To learn the amount for your person, ring the jail at 607-778-2105.

When bail comes in through the jail, the Sheriff's Fiscal Office takes it and forwards it to whichever court ordered it. The Sheriff points families to one card service for cash bail, called GovPayNet. Work through it like this:

1. Dial jail information at 607-778-2105 Have their legal name and birthday handy. Find out the dollar amount, which bail forms the judge allowed, and the court on the case.
2. Have staff list each hold. Money on one case does nothing for a separate one.
3. Paying with a card? Go to the GovPayNet cash bail page for this jail or call 877-392-2455, and give Pay Location Code 1657. Both appear on the Sheriff's own GovPayNet page.
4. That same page lists code 5900, which belongs to the Civil Division. Skip it, since it isn't for bail.
5. Paying face to face? Ask staff what hours the jail accepts bail and which payment types it will take. Carry photo ID.
6. Hang on to the receipt. Anyone posting cash bail completes and signs a form (CPL 520.15), and a refund later follows that record.

You'll find the jail at 155 Lt. VanWinkle Drive, Binghamton, NY 13905. As soon as staff have proof the bail was posted, state law requires the person's prompt release (CPL 520.15).

Courts, yes. CPL 520.15 names the places cash bail may land, and two of them are the judge's own court and the sheriff with custody. Phone ahead about the amount, the open hours and what the clerk's window accepts.

• County Court (felonies): 65 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, 607-240-5801. Weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Binghamton City Court: 5th Floor, City Hall, 38 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, 607-240-4272. Weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed on state holidays.
• Johnson City Village Court: 2nd floor, 31 Avenue C, Johnson City, NY 13790, 607-798-0002. Office hours are weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Many town and village justices hold court only on set days, so call before making the trip. The courthouse question lower on this page lists each one. If a police department is still holding the person, ask the jail at 607-778-2105 where bail can be accepted.

The law recognizes cash, a range of bonds, and payment by credit card or something like it (CPL 520.10(1)). Still, only the forms the judge chose count in a given case.

• Card, online or by phone. GovPayNet handles cash bail for this jail through its Pay Location 1657 page.
• At the jail. Ask staff at 607-778-2105 which in-person payments they take, before you head out.
• At Binghamton City Court. For its own fees, the clerk takes cash, credit cards, cashier's checks and money orders payable to the court. It turns away personal checks. Ask whether bail follows the same rules.
• At Johnson City Village Court. Fines there may be paid in cash, by money order, by certified bank check or by Visa or Mastercard, which adds 2.99%. Personal checks are turned away as well. Check on bail before going.

Send money only to a court, the jail, GovPayNet or a licensed bail agent. Mailing cash is a bad idea.

Bondsmen answer to the Department of Financial Services (DFS), which issues their licenses. Working without one is against the law. What they charge you is called the premium, and Insurance Law § 6804 caps it:

• On a bond up to $3,000, no more than 10%, or $300 at most on $3,000.
• On the slice from $3,000 to $10,000, add no more than 8%, so a $10,000 bond tops out at $860.
• On anything past $10,000, add no more than 6%, so a $20,000 bond tops out at $1,460.

Other DFS protections:

• Expect to lose the premium in most cases. The exception: it's fully refunded within 14 days if the defendant stays locked up, or walks out on recognizance or without money bail.
• The bondsman may not tack on extra fees, apart from a short list of costs, such as tracking someone down after a court warrant.
• Collateral is property or money the bondsman keeps as security. Keep it reasonable. DFS points to a tenth of the bond as a fair amount. After the paperwork closing out the bond reaches the bondsman, collateral is due back inside 45 days.
• Insist on signed receipts covering each premium and each item of collateral.
• Nonprofit charitable bail funds can post cash bail. If you ask, an agent has to write down the firm's official name plus its DFS license number.

Look up a bondsman with the DFS bail agent search, and file a grievance on the DFS complaint form.

Bail only unlocks the case it was set on. Watch for these:

• Another charge or warrant. Each needs its own release.
• Probation trouble. A fresh felony during probation counts as a qualifying offense, and a violation can trigger a separate hold. Reach the Probation Department at 45 Hawley Street, PO Box 1766, Binghamton, NY 13902, 607-778-2121.
• A parole hold. That comes from the state prison system rather than the local judge.
• A federal hold. The U.S. Marshals control those, as the federal question explains.
• An ICE detainer. See the immigration question near the end.

Ask the jail at 607-778-2105 for a full hold list before paying anything.

A judge can order remand, meaning jail with no bail at all, solely in a qualifying felony case (CPL 510.10(4)). A qualifying misdemeanor can draw bail, but not a flat denial.

The judge looks at the person's life and record. The charge matters, and so does any past flight. Money, gun history and broken protection orders count. So does whether someone was badly hurt (CPL 510.10(1)). A local court that wants to release someone on a felony has to give the prosecutor a turn to argue first and should review a rap sheet (CPL 530.20(2)).

Prosecution in this county is handled by the District Attorney's Office, George Harvey Justice Building, 45 Hawley Street, PO Box 1766, Binghamton, NY 13902, 607-778-2423.

Work through the defense lawyer. While a local court still has the case, the lawyer can bring the bail before a County Court judge for review. That judge can cut it, change the form or let the person go. Only one shot at this review is allowed (CPL 530.30).

1. Pull together proof of a job, a home, family nearby and what you can honestly afford.
2. Hand it to the lawyer, who asks the court and proposes conditions to ease the judge's concerns.
3. On a felony, the District Attorney speaks before the judge rules.

Clocks run in the person's favor, too. On a felony complaint, a jailed person goes free once 120 hours pass (144 if a weekend or holiday is part of that stretch) That clock stops mattering once a preliminary hearing opens or a grand jury acts on the case (CPL 180.80). The trial-readiness law adds more. A jailed felony defendant must be let out if prosecutors still aren't ready after 90 days, and for a misdemeanor carrying over three months the limit is 30 days (CPL 30.30(2)). County Court sits at 65 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, 607-240-5801.

A person who can't afford counsel is given a lawyer, beginning at arraignment (CPL 510.10(2)). Low income helps: state standards presume eligibility for a household earning under 250 percent of the poverty guidelines the federal government sets. Anyone sitting in jail gets the same presumption. Ask, and a lawyer should be named right then, even before the forms are checked.

• Public Defender's Office: 607-778-2403, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. After hours, lawyers and investigators stay on call for fresh arrests. The office covers every town and village justice court, the central arraignment sessions, the city court and the higher courts. Phone them for directions to the office.
• Assigned Counsel Program: 607-778-3000. It assigns an outside attorney in conflict cases, like two co-defendants who can't share one office.

Relatives are welcome to call the Public Defender and say who was picked up and where.

This county belongs to New York's 6th Judicial District. Its main courts are downtown in the county seat:

• County Court (indicted felonies): 65 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, 607-240-5801.
• Supreme Court Clerk's Office: 92 Court Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, 607-240-5800.
• Family Court (cases about children): same building as County Court, 65 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, 607-240-5799.
• Binghamton City Court: 5th Floor, City Hall, 38 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, 607-240-4272.
• Federal court: 15 Henry Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, 607-773-2893.

Town and village courts with a confirmed street address:

• Dickinson Town Court, 531 Old Front Street, Binghamton, NY 13905, 607-723-9403
• Endicott Village Court, 225 Jefferson Avenue, Endicott, NY 13760, 607-757-2483
• Fenton Town Court, 44 Park Street, Port Crane, NY 13833, 607-648-4801
• Johnson City Village Court, 31 Avenue C, Johnson City, NY 13790, 607-798-0002
• Maine Town Court, 12 Lewis Street, Maine, NY 13802, 607-862-3427
• Sanford Town Court, 18 Church Street, Deposit, NY 13754, 607-467-2516
• Triangle Town Court, 2612 Liberty Street, Whitney Point, NY 13862, 607-692-7013
• Union Town Court, 31 Avenue C, Johnson City, NY 13790, 607-786-2965

The rest, with phone numbers: Barker Town 607-648-6961; Binghamton Town 607-772-0357; Chenango Town 607-648-8565; Colesville Town 607-693-1172; Conklin Town 607-775-5244; Kirkwood Town 607-775-2653; Lisle Town 607-849-4685; Nanticoke Town 607-692-4041; Vestal Town 607-748-1514; Windsor Town 607-655-1973; Deposit Village 607-467-4240; Port Dickinson Village 607-724-1854; Whitney Point Village 607-692-4907. Street addresses and court days for these come up in the state's official Find a Court tool. Our court guide walks through what each court does.

By law, the money still belongs to whoever posted it until a judge orders it forfeited (CPL 520.15). It is usually returned when the case is over. Win a dismissal or an acquittal and the full sum is returned. A conviction means 3% is held back as a county fee (General Municipal Law § 99-m).

The judge orders the refund, but the check is cut by someone other than the court. Ask the clerk who will send yours, and keep the receipt and a photo ID ready.

• Skipped court. Missing a date with no good excuse lets the court declare the bail forfeited, which means lost (CPL 540.10).
• Making it right. Should the person return and explain the absence before the case closes, the judge may undo the forfeiture.
• Written notice. On cash bail, the county treasurer must write to the person who posted it. Only after the later of two dates may the county keep it: the final adjournment of the case, or 45 days past that notice.
• Asking for it back. Asking to get forfeited bail back means filing with a County Court judge inside one year (CPL 540.30).

Questions about a County Court case go to the clerk at 607-240-5801. On a local court case, ring that court directly.

The Sheriff's Fiscal Office holds the cash a person carries in at booking, plus any money sent in later. Whatever is left gets paid out when the person is released or sent to another facility. Ask about that balance before they leave.

For keys, a wallet, clothes or a phone taken at booking, phone jail information at 607-778-2105. Ask about pickup times, the ID you'll need, and if a written OK from the person lets you take their things. Our page about jail account deposits covers how money moves in and out.

A federal case from here lands in the Binghamton Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, 15 Henry Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, 607-773-2893. Its clerk keeps hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Release or detention is decided at a hearing tied to the first federal court date (18 U.S.C. 3142). New York's bail law plays no part.
• Federal Pretrial Services in Binghamton takes calls at 607-773-3202.
• Until trial, custody of a federal defendant rests with the U.S. Marshals Service. Its local office is at 15 Henry Street, Suite 102M, Binghamton, NY 13901. Call its district office, 100 South Clinton Street, 10th Floor, Syracuse, NY 13261, at 315-473-7601 to learn which jail is holding the person.
• The closest Federal Public Defender office: 4 Clinton Square, 3rd Floor, Syracuse, NY 13202, 315-701-0080.
• Once a prison term begins, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

It may not, because an immigration detainer stands apart from the bail. It tends to go like this:

1. First comes a detainer on Form I-247A. ICE, the federal immigration agency, uses it to ask the jail for a hold.
2. That request asks the jail to hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)), giving ICE time to collect them.
3. If the jail turns the person over, ICE agents take them away. ICE's Buffalo Field Office is at 130 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-843-7600. One of its holding sites is the Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center, 4250 Federal Drive, Batavia, NY 14020, 585-344-6500.
4. Look the person up in the ICE Online Detainee Locator using their A-number, or their name plus country of birth.

State law shapes what a local jail may do. People ex rel. Wells v DeMarco grew out of a habeas case against the Suffolk County Sheriff and was decided in 2018. The Appellate Division ruled that state law gives local and state officers no power to arrest anyone over a civil immigration matter, and it called detainer-based holds unlawful. Then came Executive Law § 170-k in 2026. It bars counties and police agencies from 287(g) partnerships with ICE, and any existing partnership became void on August 25, 2026. A month earlier, on July 24, the Attorney General had written to 12 agencies with such agreements, the Broome County Sheriff's Office among them. Courthouses get extra protection, too. Civil Rights Law § 28 blocks civil arrests of parties and witnesses on the way in, inside, or on the way out. The one exception is a warrant or order that carries a judge's signature.

Misdemeanor jail time, capped at 364 days, is done locally (Penal Law § 70.15). A longer felony sentence is normally served in a state prison under the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).

Following sentencing, people start at a reception prison. There, staff review health, programs and security level, then assign a long-term prison.

• Use the DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup with a last name and year of birth, or with the DIN. That ID number sticks with the person for the whole sentence.
• Our guide to New York state prisons profiles each one.

Raise the Age was fully in place by October 1, 2019. Since then, 16- and 17-year-olds aren't handled as adults on most charges. A teen's misdemeanor is routed to the Probation Department for intake. Felonies open in the Youth Part, a section of the higher court with judges trained for teens, and many nonviolent ones are later shifted to Family Court (CPL 722.23).

• Teens are never placed in an adult jail. They go to a state-approved secure juvenile detention center.
• Police owe the parent an immediate call once a child is in custody (Family Court Act § 305.2).
• Youth cases here are handled by the Probation Department's Family Services Division, 45 Hawley Street, PO Box 1766, Binghamton, NY 13902. Call 607-778-2121 to find out where the teen is being held and the hearing date.
• Each secure center appears on the state's juvenile detention list.