Montgomery County Correctional Facility Inmate Bail & Bonds

A judge does. Deputies and jail officers can't set or waive it. Someone taken into custody goes before a judge for arraignment, which is the first hearing on the charge. The state's CourtHelp site says arraignment normally comes about 24 hours after the arrest.

In the towns, the local justice usually handles it. An arrest inside the city of Amsterdam lands in Amsterdam City Court, Public Safety Building, Room 208, 1 Guy Park Avenue Extension, Amsterdam, NY 12010, 518-842-9510.

The written ruling goes by the name "securing order" (CPL 500.10(5)). It decides one of four paths: home on a promise, home with rules, bail, or jail. The decision must fit this particular person's chance of running, and the judge must explain the choice aloud in court or in writing (CPL 510.10(1)). A defense lawyer is part of that hearing, free for anyone who can't pay (CPL 510.10(2)).

Many people never see a cell. For most low-level charges, officers must usually hand over a desk appearance ticket. That slip lists a return date in court, and no booking into the jail follows (CPL 150.20).

Going home became the starting point in 2020, and Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2020 adjusted the rules. In 2022 the budget added gun use and earlier order of protection violations to what judges weigh. In 2023 lawmakers erased the "least restrictive" standard, so judges gained more say. These are the four possible orders:

• Release on recognizance. A signed promise to return, and nothing more.
• Release with conditions. Rules like checking in with a pretrial officer, staying in New York or surrendering a gun. The person never pays for these (CPL 500.10(3-a)).
• Bail. Dollars or a bond posted so the court feels sure the person will be back. Judges may use it only for a "qualifying offense."
• Remand. The person stays behind bars and no payment can change that. This is open only for a qualifying felony (CPL 510.10(4)).

The qualifying list sits in CPL 510.10(4) and 530.20. Examples are violent felonies, the top tier of felonies (class A), most sex felonies and a death caused by a crime. Others are violating a protective order for a relative, choking a household member, and a felony while on probation. For every other charge, release is required (CPL 510.10(3)).

Electronic monitoring is a last resort. It is limited to certain charges, and each order runs at most 60 days before a new review (CPL 510.40(4)).

New York has no bail price chart. Each judge settles on an amount for the one person in front of them and must consider whether the person can raise it "without posing undue hardship" (CPL 510.10(1)). Bail must come in at least three forms, and among them the judge must pick an unsecured or partially secured surety bond (CPL 520.10(2)(b)). Here is what the forms mean:

• Cash: the whole amount, from the person or from anybody else.
• Partially secured bond: a deposit no bigger than 10%, plus a signature covering what remains (CPL 500.10(18)).
• Unsecured bond: zero dollars today. The people who sign pay later only if court dates are missed (CPL 500.10(19)).
• Secured bond: property pledged. Real estate has to be worth double the bail once loans are subtracted (CPL 500.10(17)).
• Insurance company bond: the bail agent route, which costs a fee.
• Credit card: allowed whenever the judge names it (CPL 520.10(1)).

State numbers from 2024 show money bail is now the exception. Away from New York City, town and village courts set it in only 13% of arraignments, while 75% of people left on a promise. City courts in the rest of the state set bail in 20%.

The exact figure for your person comes from the court that arraigned them, or from the Sheriff's Office at 518-853-5500.

Under CPL 520.15(1), cash bail may be given to the sheriff holding the person, the court behind the order, or the county treasurer. The Sheriff's Office and the jail share 200 Clark Drive, Fultonville, NY 12072. Follow this order:

1. Ring the Sheriff's Office at 518-853-5500, staffed 24 hours. The county directory also lists a jail line, 518-853-5555, as an alternative number.
2. Give staff the full legal name, with spelling, and the birth date. Write down the amount, each form the judge allowed, and the court and docket number.
3. Find out the hours bail is accepted, what payment works, and the exact wording for the payee line on a money order.
4. The person posting must show ID and sign a state form (CPL 520.15(2)).
5. Hold on to the receipt. With proof the money is in, the law says the person "must be forthwith released," which means at once (CPL 520.15(1)).

On that same call, check whether a second hold could block the release.

The court that wrote the order is a lawful place to post cash too (CPL 520.15(1)). Phone first, because rural court offices keep limited hours.

• Supreme and County Court (felonies): New Montgomery County Courthouse, 58 Broadway, Fonda, NY 12068, 518-853-4516. Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Ask which payment types the clerk can take.
• Amsterdam City Court: Public Safety Building, Room 208, 1 Guy Park Avenue Extension, Amsterdam, NY 12010, 518-842-9510. Its clerk keeps weekday hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Town and village courts: clerks here often work part days, and many judges hold court in the evening. Call the court that set bail to learn when someone is at the desk, and have the docket number ready.

Wherever you pay, show ID, get a receipt naming the case, and ask the clerk to alert the jail right away.

Under CPL 500.10(9), bail means cash, a bail bond, or a credit card charge. The judge's order spells out which ones fit a given case. Before heading out:

• Have the exact cash. A clerk may have no change drawer.
• Ask if a bank check or money order is fine, and the name to write on it.
• Ask whether a card or a phone payment is possible, and about any added fee.
• Make sure your own name is on the receipt, since the refund follows that name.

Never send cash by mail. For today's accepted payments at the jail, phone 518-853-5500.

New York licenses bail agents through its Department of Financial Services (DFS). An unlicensed agent is breaking the law. Premiums have a ceiling (Insurance Law § 6804(a)):

• On bonds of $3,000 or less, the most is 10%. That puts a $1,000 bond at $100.
• Above $3,000, the agent may take 10% of the first $3,000, 8% of the next $7,000, and 6% of the rest. So $5,000 costs no more than $460, and $20,000 no more than $1,460.
• Bonds under $200 can carry a $10 minimum.

DFS rules also guard the family:

• Agents may not add fees on top of the premium. The only exceptions are a few listed costs, like catching a person after a court warrant.
• Collateral, the item or money an agent holds as security, ought to be modest, about a tenth of the bond.
• Every payment earns a signed receipt. Once the bond is exonerated, meaning closed, the agent has 45 days from receiving that paperwork to hand collateral back.
• When nobody is freed, or the judge drops money bail, you can get the premium back within 14 days.
• Nonprofit bail funds, called charitable bail organizations, may also post cash for a person. Ask for its DFS certificate number in writing.

Look up any agent on the state bail bond license search. File complaints on the DFS complaints site.

Each bail belongs to a single case. Paying it does not wipe out these:

• A warrant from elsewhere. City, town and village warrants reach the issuing county plus every county bordering it (CPL 530.70).
• Probation trouble. County Probation sits at 200 Clark Drive, Fultonville, NY 12072, 518-853-8380.
• A parole warrant from state parole officers.
• Another pending case with a separate order.
• Federal charges or an ICE detainer.
• A release rule that takes time, like fitting a monitor.

The law also runs a clock. If a felony complaint is the only paper and nothing has happened for 120 hours, the person must be let out. That window stretches to 144 hours over a weekend or a legal holiday. Exceptions apply, such as an indictment vote or a delay the defense asked for (CPL 180.80).

Ask the Sheriff's staff at 518-853-5500 to read every hold aloud first.

Yes, but narrowly. Remand, meaning jail with no bail, is possible only if a qualifying felony is charged (CPL 510.10(4)). A qualifying misdemeanor can bring bail, never remand.

Local courts face a further rule. On a class A felony charge, a local judge has no power to release the person or name bail. The same goes for a person with two earlier felony convictions (CPL 530.20(2)). A County Court judge decides those. Before a local judge frees someone on any felony, the DA must be heard and the judge must see a criminal history report.

The District Attorney's Office handles these hearings from the New Montgomery County Courthouse, 58 Broadway, Fonda, NY 12068, 518-853-8250.

When bail came from a local court, the defense may carry it to a superior court judge here, such as the County Court judge, for a fresh look. That judge may free the person, swap in conditions, or cut the amount. The law allows one such try, and for a felony the prosecutor speaks first (CPL 530.30).

1. Reach the defense lawyer fast. The Public Defender works at the Old Courthouse, 9 Park Street, 2nd Floor, Fonda, NY 12068, 518-853-8305.
2. Collect pay stubs, a lease, school or child care papers, and an honest number the family can afford.
3. Suggest supervision. Probation runs the county's Pretrial Services Program at 200 Clark Drive, Fultonville, NY 12072, 518-853-8380, and monitors people when the court requests it.
4. Raise speedy trial limits with the lawyer. A client jailed on a felony must go free if prosecutors aren't trial-ready inside 90 days (CPL 30.30(2)).

One more tool: the person can ask for "nominal" bail, meaning a tiny amount. A freely made request of that kind has to be granted (CPL 510.10(5)).

State law makes each county pay for defense when a person can't afford it (County Law § 722). This county uses its own Public Defender:

• Old Courthouse, 9 Park Street, 2nd Floor, Fonda, NY 12068
• Main number 518-853-8305; alternative number 518-853-8306
• A financial affidavit, the money form, is linked from the office's county web page.

A lawyer belongs at the arraignment itself, and the hearing should go ahead while eligibility is still being checked (Executive Law § 832(4)). State guidelines treat people as likely eligible when the household earns below 250% of the federal poverty guideline, or when they are locked up. A spouse's income doesn't count. A judge decides, and can appoint counsel right away while forms are reviewed.

A conflict can arise when the office is already defending a co-defendant. The judge then appoints a different lawyer, so ask the court how.

This is part of the state's 4th Judicial District. Felony trials take place at the county courthouse. Local courts handle first appearances, misdemeanors and violations.

• Supreme and County Court: New Montgomery County Courthouse, 58 Broadway, Fonda, NY 12068, 518-853-4516. A drug treatment court sits in the same building.
• Family Court (cases about young people): 58 Broadway, Fonda, NY 12068, 518-853-8133
• Amsterdam City Court: Room 208, 1 Guy Park Avenue Extension, Amsterdam, NY 12010, 518-842-9510
• Town of Amsterdam Court: 283 Manny's Corners Road, Amsterdam, NY 12010, 518-842-7411
• Town of Canajoharie Court: 209 Erie Boulevard, Canajoharie, NY 13317, 518-673-3013
• Village of Canajoharie Court: 75 Erie Boulevard, Canajoharie, NY 13317, 518-673-5116
• Town of Charleston Court: 480 Corbin Hill Road, Sprakers, NY 12166, 518-922-6279
• Town of Florida Court: 214 Fort Hunter Road, Amsterdam, NY 12010, 518-843-6468
• Town of Glen Court: 7 Erie Street, Fultonville, NY 12072, 518-853-4825
• Town of Minden Court: 136 State Highway 80, Fort Plain, NY 13339, 518-993-3616
• Town of Mohawk Court: 2-4 Park Street, Fonda, NY 12068, 518-853-8865
• Town of Palatine Court: 141 West Grand Street, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428, 518-673-1003
• Town of Root Court: 1048 Carlisle Road, Sprakers, NY 12166, 518-673-3549
• Town and Village of St. Johnsville Court: 7431 State Highway 5, Saint Johnsville, NY 13452, 518-568-2662, extension 102
• Federal court: James T. Foley Courthouse, 445 Broadway, Albany, NY 12207, 518-257-1789

Money posted as cash bail stays yours (CPL 520.15). A judge can take it only after a missed court date. Refunds usually follow the end of the case.

• Nothing is held back when every charge is dismissed or a jury acquits.
• If the case ends some other way, the county keeps 3%, made of a 2% fee plus 1% (General Municipal Law § 99-m).
• Guard the original receipt. Only the person it names collects, with photo ID.

Skipping court without a valid reason allows the judge to order forfeiture, the legal word for losing the bail (CPL 540.10). Forfeiture can be wiped away if the person shows up with an acceptable reason while the case is still open. The county treasurer must write to whoever posted forfeited cash. Anyone hoping to recover it has one year to apply, and the prosecutor must be notified (CPL 540.30).

The court that set bail can say how its refund check is sent.

Items taken at booking, plus money left in the jail account, are kept by the Sheriff's Office, 200 Clark Drive, Fultonville, NY 12072. Phone 518-853-5500 ahead and ask:

1. What day and time can belongings be collected?
2. Is a leftover account balance paid by check, card or another way?
3. Must the person sign a release so a relative can pick things up?

Show photo ID at the window. Our inmate money guide covers deposits and leftover balances.

Federal crimes here belong to the Albany Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, at the James T. Foley Courthouse, 445 Broadway, Albany, NY 12207, 518-257-1789. Its office hours run 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Whether the person goes home is decided at a detention hearing, normally on day one in federal court. A defense delay is capped at five days and a prosecution delay at three, weekends and holidays aside (18 U.S.C. 3142(f)).
• The judge may accept a signed promise or unsecured bond, set conditions, or order the person held (18 U.S.C. 3142(a)).
• Until a federal trial ends, deputy marshals decide where the person sleeps. Reach the Marshals in Albany at 445 Broadway, 2nd Floor, Albany, NY 12207, 518-472-5401. The Sheriff's jail in Fultonville is among the places housing people with federal charges.
• Free federal defense lawyers work at the Federal Public Defender, 54 State Street, Suite 310, Albany, NY 12207, 518-436-1850.
• Following a federal sentence, check the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. Court papers open on PACER, a paid federal records site.

Paying bail settles the state case only. Federal immigration officers follow their own steps:

1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may send the Fultonville jail Form I-247A, a request that the person not walk free on schedule.
2. The request covers up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving ICE time to arrive (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Agents pick the person up. Western New York has an ICE site where they may land: Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center, 4250 Federal Drive, Batavia, NY 14020, 585-344-6500.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by name or A-number.

New York law reins in how the Fultonville jail can respond. In People ex rel. Wells v DeMarco (2018), an Appellate Division panel concluded that New York never gave local deputies or police the job of arresting people over civil immigration status. State Attorney General guidance says to honor detainers only when a judicial warrant is attached. Executive Law § 170-k, enacted May 27, 2026, ended all 287(g) agreements, which let local officers do ICE work. Those still in place stopped counting on August 25, 2026. Civil Rights Law § 28 also covers courthouse trips: people going to court, attending, or leaving can't be civilly arrested there without a judicial warrant or a court order.

Prison terms are run by the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). After a sentence, the person waits in the Fultonville jail until the county reports them "state ready." After that notice, the state gets ten business days to take the person.

• The first destination is a DOCCS reception center. Medical screening, testing and a security score come before any prison assignment.
• Everyone gets a DIN, a state number that is the quickest way to search.
• Find people by name or DIN on the DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup.
• Callers without internet can reach DOCCS on weekdays at 518-457-5000. Its central office sits at the Harriman State Campus, Building 4, 1220 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12226.
• Each prison's visits and mail are covered by the New York state prisons guide.

Misdemeanor jail time is shorter: 364 days at most for a class A misdemeanor (Penal Law § 70.15).

Raise the Age took effect in two steps: October 1, 2018 covered 16-year-olds, and October 1, 2019 added 17-year-olds. Anyone under 18 stays out of jails that house adults. If held, a teen goes to a youth detention center.

• Officers who detain a child have to reach a parent or guardian immediately (Family Court Act § 305.2).
• For a teen of 16 or 17 accused of a misdemeanor, the case starts at probation intake instead of adult court.
• Felony cases for teens of 16 or 17 open in County Court's Youth Part. Most nonviolent ones get moved to Family Court. Prosecutors who want to keep such a case there must file a motion inside 30 days and prove "extraordinary circumstances" (CPL 722.23).
• Children under 16 are usually handled by Family Court, 58 Broadway, Fonda, NY 12068, 518-853-8133.

To find out which youth center has your teen, phone the Sheriff's Office at 518-853-5500 or Probation at 518-853-8380.