Chemung County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

A judge, at the arraignment. That is the hearing where the person first stands before the court, and in New York it tends to come within about 24 hours of the arrest. Arrests inside the city are heard in City Court. Arrests out in the towns usually start in that town's or village's justice court. Staff at the jail, 607-737-2934, know which bench has the case.

The law that judge applies has shifted several times. Reform started January 1, 2020. A first round of fixes took effect July 2, 2020. The April 2022 state budget gave judges more factors to weigh, and the spring 2023 budget scrapped the old "least restrictive" standard. Where that leaves things today:

• Most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies mean release (CPL 510.10(3), 530.20(1)(a)). The person goes home on a signed promise or with rules to follow.
• Money bail, or remand (being kept in jail with no bail), is open to the judge only for "qualifying offenses," a list spelled out in the law (CPL 510.10(4), 530.20(1)(b)).
• Lots of people facing small charges never get booked into the jail at all. Officers hand over a desk appearance ticket, a slip naming the day to appear, and the person heads home (CPL 150.20).

Two words to know. A felony is a grave crime, one that can carry a prison sentence of over a year. A misdemeanor is lighter, capped at 364 days behind bars locally (Penal Law § 70.15).

Lawyers call the ruling a "securing order." New York permits four kinds (CPL 500.10, 510.10):

• Release on recognizance (ROR). A written promise to come back. Nothing is paid.
• Non-monetary conditions. Rules such as reporting in, a curfew, or keeping clear of a certain person. These rules can't come with a bill (CPL 500.10(3-a)).
• Bail. Money or a bond, refunded at the finish if every appearance was made. Reserved for qualifying charges.
• Remand. Staying locked up for the whole case. Allowed only on qualifying felonies.

Electronic monitoring, such as an ankle bracelet, is a last-resort condition. A single order lasts 60 days or less (CPL 510.40(4)). Renewing it takes another hearing, and private for-profit firms can't do the watching.

Locally, pretrial supervision belongs to the Chemung Project for Bail, 324 East Market Street, Suite 2, Elmira, NY 14901, 607-734-8854. It sees adults 18 and up who are waiting for trial, links them with treatment, and handles monitoring when a judge orders it.

No. New York uses no bail chart, so every amount is set by hand. The judge has to consider the person's finances and whether they could pay "without posing undue hardship" (CPL 510.10(1)). Roughly, charges land in these buckets:

• Violations. Not crimes at all. Release must follow.
• Most misdemeanors. Promise or rules, never bail.
• Most nonviolent felonies. Same treatment, unless another clause of the law makes the charge qualifying.
• Violent felonies, for example second-degree assault or first-degree robbery. The judge may set bail or remand.
• Class A felonies. Bail or remand is on the table, and only a higher court can free the person.
• Household cases, such as strangulation of a relative or breaking a protective order. Money bail becomes an option.
• A new felony committed during probation, or new harm while free on a similar charge. The judge gains the bail option.
• Bail jumping or escape. Qualifying, so bail can be set.

In 2024, state data show money bail in about 20% of arraignments in upstate city courts and about 13% in town and village courts. Most people left on their own word. To learn the figure in a given case, ring the jail at 607-737-2934.

The William Street jail, 211 William Street, Elmira, NY 14901, takes bail two ways: cash in person, or a credit card online. Work through this list:

1. Phone 607-737-2934. Tell staff the person's legal name and birthday.
2. Write down the bail figure, the case it belongs to, and each form of bail the judge approved.
3. For cash, show up at the jail and say you want to do a cash bail transaction. Ask about hours before you leave home, and carry a photo ID.
4. For a card, go to ALLPAID, the company the county names for credit card bail. These payments can all be handled remotely. Ask jail staff which case details to enter.
5. Fill out and sign the paperwork, and hang on to the receipt. Proof of the deposit triggers release "forthwith," which means right away (CPL 520.15).

Under CPL 520.15, three offices can receive cash bail. One is the judge's own court. The others are the treasurer for the county and whichever sheriff is holding the person. Phone ahead, since a court clerk can tell you whether that window accepts bail and how:

• City Court, City Hall, 317 East Church Street, Elmira, NY 14901 (second floor), 607-873-9520. Hours run 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, and the payment window closes at 4:00 p.m.
• Court Clerk's Office serving County Court and Supreme Court, Hazlett Building, 203-205 Lake Street, Elmira, NY 14901, 607-873-9450.
• Town and village justice courts. Use the number for the court printed on the release papers, and ask what days the clerk works.

If every courthouse is shut for the night or weekend, the jail at 607-737-2934 can explain your options.

At the jail, cash goes in person and credit cards go through ALLPAID online. Before paying by card, check for a convenience fee on the payment screen. Checks and money orders are a question for jail staff at 607-737-2934.

State law gives the judge a menu of bail forms. Whenever bail is set, the judge has to allow three or more of them (CPL 520.10). Among them, the court must include a bond that is unsecured, or one only partly secured:

• Full cash or full credit card.
• Insurance company bail bond, arranged through a licensed agent.
• Partially secured bond. You put down 10% or less and promise the balance if court is missed (CPL 500.10(18)).
• Unsecured bond. A signature and a promise, with nothing deposited (CPL 500.10(19)).
• Secured bond. Pledged belongings equal to the bail, or real estate valued at twice it (CPL 500.10(17)).

Scammers sometimes phone families about bail. Real bail is never paid with gift cards, wire transfers or a stranger's payment app.

Bondsmen, whom state law calls bail agents, write bonds for an insurer and charge a premium for doing it. Each must carry a state license from the Department of Financial Services (DFS). Insurance Law § 6804 sets a ceiling on that premium:

• 10 percent of the first $3,000
• 8 percent of the slice from $3,000 up to $10,000
• 6 percent of whatever is over $10,000

So on a $5,000 bond, the most an agent may charge is $460. Other DFS consumer rules:

• Premiums are usually kept. A full refund is due inside 14 days, though, if the person never gets out or walks free with no money bail.
• Add-on fees are banned. DFS carves out only certain real expenses.
• Collateral, the property or cash held as security, ought to be reasonable, roughly 10% of the bond. DFS gives the agent 45 days to hand it back after the exoneration paperwork reaches them.
• Demand a signed, itemized receipt each time you pay.
• Confirm a license through the DFS bail bond search. File problems on the DFS complaint form.

Some nonprofits, called charitable bail organizations, may post cash bail for people who can't. Asking for their DFS certificate number in writing is your right.

Bail settles one case and nothing more. Before money changes hands, phone the jail at 607-737-2934 and have staff check for anything else. Watch for:

• Two separate cases. A City Court matter and a town court matter each need their own release order.
• An outside warrant from a different court or county.
• A probation violation. The county Probation Department, 203 William Street, Elmira, NY 14901, 607-737-2800, can explain any hold it placed.
• Parole, federal or ICE holds. Local bail leaves these untouched.

Deadlines can help, too. On a felony complaint, the clock is 120 hours (CPL 180.80). Add a day, to 144, when a weekend or holiday is included. If by then no preliminary hearing has begun and no grand jury has acted, the person is usually freed, with a few exceptions.

Denying bail is called remand, and a judge can do it only when the top charge is a qualifying felony (CPL 510.10(4)). Anything else means release.

Local benches have tighter limits still. With a class A felony charge, or two earlier felony convictions on the record, a city, town or village justice can neither release the person nor fix bail (CPL 530.20(2)). On felonies in general, the DA gets to weigh in first before a local justice grants release.

Judges also weigh criminal history, earlier skipped court dates, the person's means, and any gun or serious injury in the case (CPL 510.10(1)). Arguing for bail or remand falls to the District Attorney's Office, 150 Lake Street, Elmira, NY 14901 (second floor), 607-737-2944, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

1. Ask the defense attorney to press the point at the coming court date.
2. For a case in a local court, meaning City Court or one of the town and village benches, the lawyer may seek review from a superior court judge. The law allows that only once, so it pays to prepare (CPL 530.30).
3. Gather work records, housing papers, proof of relatives nearby and a realistic dollar figure the family could gather.
4. Propose conditions that calm the judge's concerns, like regular reporting to the Chemung Project for Bail, 607-734-8854.

The higher courts' clerk sits in the Hazlett Building, 203-205 Lake Street, Elmira, NY 14901, 607-873-9450. A defendant can also request nominal bail, a token sum, and the judge has to set it when the request is voluntary (CPL 510.10(5)).

Yes, when money is short. The right to counsel applies as soon as release is being decided, and the court appoints a lawyer for anyone who can't hire one (CPL 510.10(2)). Locally, those appointments mostly go to the Public Defender's Office, 324 East Market Street, Suite 1, Elmira, NY 14901, 607-737-2969, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A person assigned to that office should phone it quickly.

Statewide standards from the Office of Indigent Legal Services presume eligibility whenever household income falls below 2.5 times the federal poverty guidelines. Sitting in jail also creates that presumption, and a spouse's paycheck is left out. Conflicts happen, and then the county's plan finds another attorney (County Law § 722).

Felony cases are finished in County Court. Smaller cases stay in City Court or a local justice court. The full list:

• County Court and Supreme Court, Hazlett Building, 203-205 Lake Street, Elmira, NY 14901, 607-873-9446
• County Court chambers, Chemung County Courthouse, 224 Lake Street, Elmira, NY 14901, 607-873-9430
• Family Court, Justice Building, 203-209 William Street, Elmira, NY 14901, 607-873-9500
• City Court, 317 East Church Street, Elmira, NY 14901 (second floor), 607-873-9520
• Ashland Town Court and Wellsburg Village Court, 3663 Sixth Street, Wellsburg, NY 14894, 607-398-7119 (alternative number 607-438-0593)
• Baldwin Town Court, 622 Breesport-North Chemung Road, Lowman, NY 14861, 607-398-7208 (alternative number 607-732-0723)
• Big Flats Town Court, 476 Maple Street, Big Flats, NY 14814, 607-562-0009
• Catlin Town Court, 1448 Chambers Road, Beaver Dams, NY 14812, 607-739-5598, extension 3
• Chemung Town Court, 48 Rotary Road Extension, Chemung, NY 14825, 607-529-3532, extension 1
• Town of Elmira court, 1255 West Water Street, Elmira, NY 14905, 607-734-2031 (alternative number 607-734-5971)
• Erin Town Court, 1138 Breesport Road, Erin, NY 14838, 607-739-8681, extension 2
• Horseheads Town Court, 150 Wygant Road, Horseheads, NY 14845, 607-739-2113
• Southport Town Court, 1139 Pennsylvania Avenue, Elmira, NY 14904, 607-734-4446 (alternative number 607-734-1548)
• Van Etten Town Court, 6 Gee Street, Van Etten, NY 14889, 607-589-4435
• Veteran Town Court, 4049 Watkins Road, Millport, NY 14864, 607-739-3337
• Village of Elmira Heights court, 215 Elmwood Avenue, Elmira Heights, NY 14903, 607-737-6750
• Horseheads Village Court, 202 South Main Street, Horseheads, NY 14845, 607-739-0158

It can be. Whoever posted cash bail still owns that money, and only a forfeiture order changes that (CPL 520.15). Once the case closes with no missed dates, the court signs a refund order. The check itself is cut by the county, not by the court. Save the receipt and keep your ID ready.

• A 3 percent cut. Under General Municipal Law § 99-m, that slice stays with the county. It is refunded too when charges are dropped or a jury acquits.
• Skipping court. Miss a date without an excuse the judge accepts, and the bail is forfeited, or taken. If the person turns up and explains before the final adjournment, the judge may cancel that (CPL 540.10).
• Getting forfeited money back. An application to remit, or return, it has a one-year deadline and needs five days' notice to the District Attorney (CPL 540.30).

Refund questions go to the court that received the bail, or to the jail at 607-737-2934.

Settle this before the person leaves custody. Whatever was taken at booking is stored by the jail at 211 William Street, Elmira, NY 14901. Ring 607-737-2934 to hear how any account balance is refunded and when belongings may be claimed.

Carry a photo ID. A friend collecting items may need a signed note from the person, so check with staff in advance. For more on balances and deposits, read our inmate money guide.

Federal cases from here go to the Rochester Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, at the Kenneth B. Keating Federal Building, 100 State Street, Rochester, NY 14614. Its clerk's office, 585-613-4000, keeps weekday hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Release is argued at a detention hearing, which normally starts at the first federal appearance. Any delay is brief (18 U.S.C. 3142(f)). A defense request buys up to five days, and a prosecution request up to three.
• Up to trial, the U.S. Marshals Service controls custody and places the person in a jail that accepts federal prisoners. For the current location, phone the Marshals at 2 Niagara Square, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-348-5300.
• Low-income defendants are represented by the Federal Public Defender, 28 East Main Street, Suite 400, Rochester, NY 14614, 585-263-6201.
• After sentencing, check the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. Bail answers the state charge only, while a detainer is a federal request. It typically unfolds in four steps:

1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sends paperwork called Form I-247A.
2. This request tells staff to keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Agents pick the person up. One spot they may be brought is the Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center, 4250 Federal Drive, Batavia, NY 14020, 585-344-6500. ICE's Buffalo Field Office sits at 130 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-843-7600.
4. Look the person up in the ICE Online Detainee Locator using their name and birth country.

New York adds its own limits. In People ex rel. Wells v DeMarco (2018), an appellate panel found that local officers in New York lack legal authority to make civil immigration arrests. Keeping someone on a detainer alone was struck down. Guidance from the Attorney General tells jails to comply only when a signed judicial warrant backs the detainer. Executive Law § 170-k, passed in 2026, outlaws 287(g) deals, and every remaining one became void on August 25, 2026. And Civil Rights Law § 28 shields people headed to or leaving court from civil arrest, unless a judge personally okayed that arrest on paper.

Short terms, 364 days or less, are done locally. Anything longer sends the person into the state system, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).

• The William Street jail keeps them until the county certifies them "state ready." DOCCS then must take them within ten business days.
• Stop one in the state system is a reception center. Doctors, testers and classification staff sort out needs and a security level before a longer-term prison is picked.
• Find them with the DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup, by name or by DIN, the number DOCCS gives each person. During business hours DOCCS also answers questions at 518-457-5000.
• Prison-by-prison visiting and mail rules: read our New York state prisons guide.

Raise the Age moved most teens out of adult court. It reached 16-year-olds first, on October 1, 2018. A year later, on October 1, 2019, it took in 17-year-olds. A teenage felony case opens in the Youth Part, a special part of the county's top criminal court, and nonviolent ones are usually sent on to Family Court (CPL 722.23). Misdemeanor charges skip criminal court and head to probation intake.

• Teens are never held alongside adults. If a youth must be detained, it happens at a secure juvenile center.
• A parent must get word immediately when police take their child (Family Court Act § 305.2).
• Probation runs juvenile intake at 607-737-2800. Family Court is in the Justice Building, 203-209 William Street, Elmira, NY 14901, 607-873-9500.