Tioga County Jail

A local justice does. With no city court anywhere in the county, the first hearing, called the arraignment, is nearly always in front of a town or village justice. Most people see that justice within roughly a day of the arrest. A felony that is later indicted moves up to County Court.

At arraignment the justice writes a "securing order," which picks one path (CPL 500.10):

• home on a signed promise
• home with rules to follow
• bail in a set dollar amount
• remand, meaning the Sheriff keeps the person with no bail

A defense lawyer stands in at this hearing. The justice must size up this one person's chance of fleeing and give reasons, spoken or written (CPL 510.10(1)).

State law gives five tools. In everyday words:

• Recognizance. Sign, walk out, show up later. Nothing is paid.
• Non-monetary conditions. Examples are reporting to Probation, being home by a set hour, or keeping away from a person the judge names. The person pays nothing for these (CPL 500.10(3-a)).
• Ankle monitor. Allowed only for certain charges, in blocks of 60 days that a judge must renew (CPL 510.40(4)).
• Bail. Dollars or a bond, pledged so the person comes back.
• Remand. No release at all, possible only on a qualifying felony.

Here, Probation runs the release-with-check-ins program and the GPS units. Its office is at 20 Court Street, Suite 1, Owego, NY 13827, 607-687-8535.

No price chart exists in New York. Each justice chooses a number for the one defendant standing there, and the law makes them ask whether it would strain that person's wallet (CPL 510.10(1)). The charge decides whether any money may be demanded:

• Petit larceny, a first DWI, trespass: release required, so zero bail.
• Most drug possession or theft felonies: release is the rule.
• Robbery, second-degree assault and other violent felonies: bail or remand allowed.
• Violating a stay-away order, or strangling someone in the home: bail allowed.
• A fresh felony while on probation: bail allowed.
• A class A felony, or two past felony convictions: County Court sets release, since a local justice can't (CPL 530.20(2)).

Across New York's town and village benches in 2024, three in four defendants left on their own promise, and roughly one in eight had bail set. The jail will tell you a real figure at 607-687-8463.

The Sheriff's Office and jail share one building at 103 Corporate Drive, Owego, NY 13827, and bail is taken in its lobby. Corrections staff work every hour of every day. A good order of steps:

1. Phone 607-687-8463, spell the full name, and get the bail figure.
2. Ask what time today the lobby will accept it.
3. Carry the whole amount as cash, or bring a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover card.
4. For a card, the cardholder has to be there in person with a valid photo ID.
5. Plan on a service fee that stays with the county.
6. Hold on to the paper receipt. Refunds depend on it.

Once the jail gets proof the money was deposited, state law calls for release right then (CPL 520.15).

Remote bail runs through GovPayNet, a payment firm the Sheriff's Office names on its bail and fines page, which carries the online link. By phone, call 888-277-2535. Gather these first:

• Pay Location Code 1784
• the defendant's first name, last name and home address
• which court set bail, and the judge's name
• the exact cash bail figure
• a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover card

GovPayNet's fee is not returned. The payment is treated as the defendant's own money, and any receipt carries the defendant's name, not yours.

A court that set bail may take cash bail too (CPL 520.15). Phone the court before driving over. Felony bail questions go to the County Court clerk, 16 Court Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-689-6102.

Two kinds of payment clear the jail window: paper money, and a credit or debit card from Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. The Sheriff's Office turns away three others:

• personal checks
• money orders
• split payments, like half cash and half card

On your card statement the charge reads "Government Payment EXP." Each card payment adds a service fee you won't get back.

Bonds are another route. Whenever bail is set, the order must allow three or more ways to post it, including at least one partly secured or fully unsecured bond (CPL 520.10). With a partially secured bond, you put down no more than one tenth of the bail. An unsecured bond takes no deposit, only a signed pledge to pay the full sum if court dates are missed.

For a non-refundable premium, an agent posts an insurance bond on the person's behalf. Agents work under a DFS license, since DFS polices insurance in New York. Insurance Law § 6804 caps the premium:

• up to 10% on the first $3,000
• up to 8% on the slice from $3,000 to $10,000
• up to 6% on anything above $10,000

On a $5,000 bond that tops out at $460. Going over the cap is a misdemeanor.

• The premium normally stays with the agent. Within 14 days, though, the whole premium must be refunded if the bond never frees anyone, or if release comes without bail.
• Reasonable collateral, per DFS, is something like 10% of the bond. Collateral is due back 45 days after the agent gets exoneration paperwork from the court.
• Get signed receipts listing every dollar and item.
• Check an agent's license with the DFS license lookup. Complaints go through the DFS complaint form.

A bail receipt frees a person on one case only. Other things can keep them on Corporate Drive:

• Another open case with its own securing order.
• An outside warrant. A local justice's warrant can be carried out across Tioga and the counties touching it (CPL 530.70).
• A parole hold. State Parole violators are housed here.
• Federal custody. Some people on Corporate Drive are there for the U.S. Marshals Service.
• A sentence already being served.
• An ICE detainer, explained in the immigration answer on this page.

Since Corrections shares only a name and bail figure by phone, ask the defense lawyer about holds. The Public Defender's main line is 607-687-8273.

Remand is possible only on a "qualifying offense" from CPL 510.10(4) and 530.20, and only when that charge is a felony. Violent felonies, class A felonies, sex trafficking and felonies committed on probation are among them.

• Class A felonies, and people with two prior felony convictions, are beyond a local justice's power to release. County Court decides (CPL 530.20(2)).
• The District Attorney gets to weigh in before any felony release by a local justice.
• A clock runs on felony complaints. Without a hearing or grand jury action, release is owed after 120 hours in jail, stretched to 144 if a Saturday, Sunday or holiday falls in between (CPL 180.80).

Requests for remand come from the District Attorney's Office, 20 Court Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-687-8650, which sees visitors by appointment.

The lawyer drives this. Options a family can raise with them:

1. Go back to the local justice and ask for new terms.
2. Use the one County Court review. When a local justice said no to release, or set bail that seems too steep, County Court may review it once (CPL 530.30).
3. Offer Probation supervision or a GPS unit as a middle step.
4. Show roots. Pay stubs, a lease, a boss's letter and a frank list of what the family can raise all help.

Delay can also force release. If the prosecution still isn't ready for trial 90 days into a jailed felony case, the person must be freed (CPL 30.30(2)). County Court's clerk sits at 16 Court Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-689-6102.

Anyone charged with a crime may have a lawyer from the very first hearing, paid by the county when they can't pay (County Law § 722). Courts presume a jailed person qualifies. They presume the same for a paycheck smaller than 250% of the federal poverty guideline.

• Main Public Defender office: 171 Main Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-687-8273. It handles the Berkshire, Candor, Newark Valley, Nichols, Owego Town, Richford and Tioga town courts, and parole violation cases.
• Waverly branch: 447 Fulton Street, Waverly, NY 14892, 607-565-2455, for the Barton, Waverly and Spencer courts.
• Family Court division: 56 Main Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-687-8272.
• Assigned Counsel, for conflict cases: 56 Main Street, Suite 113, Owego, NY 13827, 607-687-8281.

The county belongs to the 6th Judicial District. Local justices take misdemeanors, violations and the opening steps of felonies. Indicted felonies are tried in County Court.

• County Court and Supreme Court: 16 Court Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-689-6102, open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Family Court: 20 Court Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-689-6077
• Barton Town Court: 304 Route 17C, Waverly, NY 14892, 607-565-2261 ext. 1
• Berkshire Town Court: 18 Railroad Avenue, Berkshire, NY 13736, 607-657-8286
• Candor Town Court: 101 Owego Road, Candor, NY 13743, 607-659-3175 ext. 2
• Newark Valley Town Court: 109 Whig Street, Newark Valley, NY 13811, 607-642-5278
• Nichols Town Court: 139 Ro-Ki Blvd, Room 6, Nichols, NY 13812, 607-699-3127
• Owego Town Court: 2354 State Route 434, Apalachin, NY 13732, 607-687-0123 ext. 4
• Owego Village Court: 90 Temple Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-687-2236
• Richford Town Court: 7 Bowery Lane, Richford, NY 13835, 607-657-8317
• Spencer Town Court: 79 E. Tioga Street, Spencer, NY 14883, 607-589-7324
• Tioga Town Court: 54 5th Avenue, Barton, NY 13734, 607-687-9577
• Waverly Village Court: 32 Ithaca Street, Waverly, NY 14892, 607-565-4771

Cash bail goes back when the case is over, provided the person came to every date. The Sheriff's Office points people to the court that has the case for the money, and that court pays any refund to the defendant.

• After a conviction, 3% of cash bail is held back for the county. If the case ends with a dismissal or acquittal, nothing is taken (General Municipal Law § 99-m).
• Skip a date without a solid reason, and forfeiture follows, and the county pockets the bail by court order (CPL 540.10).
• Courts usually wait 48 hours after warning the defendant or counsel before a bench warrant goes out, leaving time to come in by choice (CPL 510.50).
• Families hoping to win back forfeited money, a step called remission, get one year to apply (CPL 540.30).

Felony refunds run through the County Court clerk at 607-689-6102. Town and village refunds come from the court that set the bail.

Wallets, phones, clothes and leftover account money stay with Corrections at 103 Corporate Drive, Owego, NY 13827 until release. Call 607-687-8463 and ask how leftover account money is handed back and what time belongings can be collected.

Usually the released person signs for their own things. When a relative collects, staff may ask for a written OK from the owner plus your photo ID, so check before the trip. Our jail account money guide walks through deposits and balances.

Federal cases from Tioga towns are heard 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.

1. A federal judge weighs release or detention at the first appearance. Only a short delay is allowed, on request (18 U.S.C. 3142(f)).
2. Release terms can include a bond, drug testing or reporting to pretrial services.
3. People kept in custody are under the U.S. Marshals Service, whose Binghamton office is at 15 Henry Street, Suite 102M, Binghamton, NY 13901. The district headquarters in Syracuse answers at 315-473-7601.
4. The jail on Corporate Drive takes federal prisoners for the Marshals, so a detained person might stay nearby.
5. After sentencing, check the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

State bail and an ICE request are two separate tracks. Step by step:

1. ICE sends Form I-247A when it wants the jail to keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
2. Upstate cases like this run through ICE's Buffalo Field Office, 130 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-843-7600.
3. Upstate detainees often spend time at the Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center, 4250 Federal Drive, Batavia, NY 14020, 585-344-6500.
4. Track them in the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

State law shapes what the jail can do. In People ex rel. Wells v DeMarco (2018), the Appellate Division found nothing in New York law letting sheriffs or police arrest for civil immigration reasons. Keeping a person jailed on a detainer by itself broke the law. Executive Law § 170-k (2026) ended all 287(g) agreements. Civil Rights Law § 28 protects anyone headed to, sitting in or leaving a Tioga courtroom: no civil immigration arrest there without a judge's signed warrant or order.

Local jail time tops out at one year. Anything longer on a felony is served with the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). After the county tells DOCCS the person is ready, the state gets ten business days to send for them.

• Intake starts at a reception center. Doctors, tests and a security score come first, then a bus ride to the assigned prison.
• The DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup works with a name or a DIN, which is the state prison number.
• On weekdays, DOCCS headquarters, 1220 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12226, helps families locate someone at 518-457-5000.
• Facility details are on our New York prisons directory.

Only adults 18 and up are housed on Corporate Drive. Raise the Age law requires police to reach a parent right after picking up anyone under 18.

• For a felony, 16 and 17 year olds go first to the Youth Part, a special section of criminal court. Nonviolent ones usually shift to Family Court (CPL 722.23).
• A misdemeanor at that age is routed to Probation intake, not adult court.
• Kids from 12 to 15 mostly land in Family Court. Family Court law gives a held child 72 hours, or less if a court day comes first, before seeing a judge.
• Teens who can't go home before court stay at a juvenile detention center outside the county, under a county contract.

For the youth's location and court date, reach Probation at 20 Court Street, Suite 1, Owego, NY 13827, 607-687-8535, or Family Court at 607-689-6077.

Each New York crime has a class, and that class points to a courtroom:

• Violations, like disorderly conduct, aren't crimes. Up to 15 days in jail.
• Misdemeanors are lesser crimes. Class A ones top out at 364 days of local jail time. Class B can bring up to 3 months (Penal Law § 70.15).
• Felonies are serious crimes, ranked A (worst) down to E. They can mean state prison.

With no city in the county, town and village justice courts handle violations, misdemeanors and traffic cases. Those justices also hold the first steps of every felony. Indicted felonies climb to County Court on Court Street. Family Court hears youth cases. All of these belong to the 6th Judicial District.

The county-level courts sit side by side downtown:

• County Court and Supreme Court (indicted felonies and appeals from the town and village benches): Tioga County Courthouse, 16 Court Street, Owego, NY 13827. Chief Clerk 607-689-6102; general line 607-689-6100. Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed state holidays. Park in the county lot just south of the CVS on Park Street.
• Family Court: Court Annex Building, 20 Court Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-689-6077. Same weekday hours. Every visitor walks through a metal detector.
• Treatment Court (court-supervised addiction treatment): 20 Court Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-689-6103.

Every one of the nine towns runs a justice court, and two villages add their own. Each court meets only on set days, shown here:

• Barton Town Court, 304 Route 17C, Waverly, NY 14892, 607-565-2261 ext. 1. First and third Tuesdays, 2:00 p.m.
• Berkshire Town Court, 18 Railroad Avenue, Berkshire, NY 13736, 607-657-8286. Third Monday, 2:30 p.m.
• Candor Town Court, 101 Owego Road, Candor, NY 13743, 607-659-3175 ext. 2. First Monday, 5:00 p.m.
• Newark Valley Town Court, 109 Whig Street, Newark Valley, NY 13811, 607-642-5278. Second Tuesday, 4:00 p.m.
• Nichols Town Court, 139 Ro-Ki Blvd, Room 6, Nichols, NY 13812, 607-699-3127. Court sits in Room 7 on set Wednesdays and Thursdays.
• Owego Town Court, 2354 State Route 434, Apalachin, NY 13732, 607-687-0123 ext. 4. Most Tuesday mornings and one Wednesday afternoon a month.
• Owego Village Court, 90 Temple Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-687-2236. First and third Tuesdays, 9:00 a.m.
• Richford Town Court, 7 Bowery Lane, Richford, NY 13835, 607-657-8317. Third Monday, 4:00 p.m.
• Spencer Town Court, 79 E. Tioga Street, Spencer, NY 14883, 607-589-7324. Third Thursday, 4:00 p.m.
• Tioga Town Court, 54 5th Avenue, Barton, NY 13734, 607-687-9577. Second Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.
• Waverly Village Court, 32 Ithaca Street, Waverly, NY 14892, 607-565-4771. Thursdays at 1:30 p.m., skipping the first Thursday.

Arrests in the villages of Candor, Newark Valley, Nichols and Spencer go to that town's court.

Many people charged with lower-level crimes never sit in a cell. Police usually must hand them an appearance ticket with a court date and let them go (CPL 150.20). Others are held and brought to a justice, usually within about 24 hours.

At arraignment the justice:

• reads the charges out loud
• makes sure a lawyer is there, free if the person can't pay
• decides release, conditions, bail or remand (CPL 510.10)
• can add a temporary stay-away order when family members are involved
• picks the next court day

Facing a felony complaint? The person may testify to the grand jury. The lawyer sends the District Attorney a written notice before any indictment is filed (CPL 190.50(5)).

A misdemeanor normally finishes in the same justice court where it began, with the District Attorney prosecuting. Typical order:

1. Arraignment, where the person answers the charge.
2. Discovery, meaning evidence sharing. The District Attorney hands over its evidence in 20 days for a jailed client and in 35 days for one at home (CPL 245.10).
3. Talks about a plea deal, or a trial.
4. Sentencing if convicted.

For a class A misdemeanor, the trial-ready deadline is 90 days (CPL 30.30). Possible penalties:

• Class A: up to 364 days and a $1,000 fine, or 2 to 3 years of probation
• Class B: up to 3 months and a $500 fine
• Violation: up to 15 days and a $250 fine

Some traffic tickets qualify for the District Attorney's Traffic Diversion Program. Ask the office at 607-687-8650.

Felonies take more steps and more time:

1. Felony complaint and arraignment before a local justice.
2. Preliminary hearing or grand jury action. Without either, the law sets a release deadline: 120 hours behind bars, or 144 if the wait spans a weekend or holiday (CPL 180.80).
3. Indictment by the grand jury, which sends the case to County Court.
4. Arraignment on the indictment in County Court, then motions and plea talks.
5. Trial, which prosecutors must be ready for within six months (CPL 30.30).
6. Sentencing.

The worst, class A, can bring life (Penal Law § 70.00). From there the cap falls with each step down the alphabet, ending at 4 years for class E. Class B tops out at 25 years. Felony fines reach $5,000 or double the gain. Some people with addiction can enter Judicial Diversion instead, through the local Treatment Court.

They are. New York lists "violent felony offenses" in Penal Law § 70.02, and they carry fixed prison terms plus supervision after release:

• First-degree robbery (class B): no less than 5 years, no more than 25
• Second-degree burglary (class C): a 3.5-year floor and a 15-year ceiling
• Second-degree assault (class D): a judge picks between 2 and 7 years
• Class E violent crimes: anywhere from a year and a half to 4 years

Bail, and even remand, is on the table for all of them, since each is a "qualifying offense." Family violence cases often bring an order of protection that can run 8 years or more past a felony sentence (CPL 530.12). Repeat felony offenders face longer terms. A defendant under 19 when the crime happened may still win youthful offender status, which replaces the conviction (CPL 720.10).

The District Attorney's Office, 20 Court Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-687-8650, prosecutes every crime in the county. Meetings are by appointment. Only the judge, not the District Attorney, can move a court date.

Defense for people who can't afford a lawyer is set up by the county (County Law § 722):

• Public Defender, 171 Main Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-687-8273. Covers most town courts plus parole violations.
• Public Defender, Waverly office, 447 Fulton Street, Waverly, NY 14892, 607-565-2455. Covers Barton, Waverly and Spencer.
• Assigned Counsel, 56 Main Street, Suite 113, Owego, NY 13827, 607-687-8281. Used for conflict cases, such as two co-defendants.

Anyone held in jail is presumed eligible.

Court dates here come straight from the clerks. The statewide WebCrims tool reaches New York City, Long Island and a set group of other courts, so for Tioga cases, phone the right office:

• Felonies after indictment: County Court Chief Clerk, 16 Court Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-689-6102.
• Town and village cases: phone whichever justice handled the arraignment or appears on the ticket. Clerks there often work part time, so leave a message.
• Youth cases: Family Court, 20 Court Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-689-6077. These records are private.

Give the clerk a full legal name and birth date. Defense lawyers receive each date too and will pass it along.

Sheriff's deputies, troopers and village officers all carry out warrants in these towns. To learn whether one exists, call the Sheriff's Office, 103 Corporate Drive, Owego, NY 13827, at 607-687-1010. Statewide fugitives are listed on the New York State Police wanted page. Clerks at the issuing court can confirm one too. Clearing one means calling a lawyer, then walking in together to the issuing court. For a felony warrant, that is usually County Court, 16 Court Street, Owego, NY 13827, 607-689-6102. Coming in on your own often goes better than being picked up.

Federal crimes are tried in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, Binghamton Division, 15 Henry Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, 607-773-2893. Clerk hours run 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Custody is argued right at the start, at a detention hearing that opens the federal case (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Pretrial Services in Binghamton supervises people let out before trial, 607-773-3202.
• The Federal Public Defender serving the district is at 4 Clinton Square, 3rd Floor, Syracuse, NY 13202, 315-701-0080.
• Federal defendants in custody answer to the U.S. Marshals Service. Its Binghamton office is 15 Henry Street, Suite 102M, Binghamton, NY 13901. The jail on Corporate Drive takes some of its prisoners.
• Read filings on PACER, which charges by the page. After sentencing, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

An ICE request leaves the state charges in place. It matters mostly on the day of release:

1. By filing Form I-247A, ICE asks Corrections to keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
2. If ICE picks the person up, its Buffalo Field Office takes charge: 130 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-843-7600.
3. Southern Tier detainees are often moved across the state to the Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center, 4250 Federal Drive, Batavia, NY 14020, 585-344-6500.
4. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator to see where someone is.

New York rules come next. The 2018 ruling in People ex rel. Wells v DeMarco says local officers can't arrest for civil immigration matters under state law. Executive Law § 170-k, a 2026 law, voided every 287(g) agreement a New York agency had with ICE. And Civil Rights Law § 28 blocks civil immigration arrests of people attending court in good faith without a judicial warrant or order. Noncitizens: talk through deportation risk with the defense lawyer well before pleading guilty.

Up to one year, a sentence is done locally on Corporate Drive. Past one year on a felony, the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) takes over:

• Medical exams, program tests and a security score at a DOCCS reception center decide which prison comes next.
• Once Corrections on Corporate Drive says the person is state ready, DOCCS must send for them within ten business days, counting from that notice.
• Find people with the DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup using a name or the DIN prison number.
• Anyone released to parole can be found with the DOCCS parolee lookup.
• Visits and mail at each prison are covered in our New York state prisons listing.

Raise the Age moved most young people out of adult court. The adult jail houses only people 18 and older.

• Ages 16 and 17, felony: starts in the Youth Part. Nonviolent cases shift to Family Court, and the District Attorney has a 30-day window to argue "extraordinary circumstances" for keeping one (CPL 722.23).
• Ages 16 and 17, misdemeanor: Probation intake.
• Ages 12 to 15: juvenile delinquency cases in Family Court, unless the charge is one of the most serious felonies.

Here, all delinquency petitions go to the resident Family Court judge, who usually sits Tuesday through Thursday. Probation tries diversion first for many younger children. Call Probation at 20 Court Street, Suite 1, Owego, NY 13827, 607-687-8535, to learn which juvenile detention center is holding a youth.

Victims have a voice in the case and access to support:

• A New Hope Center, 20 Church Street, Owego, NY 13827, runs a 24-hour hotline and text line at 607-687-6866 for violence and crisis help.
• Probation takes victim impact statements and pays out restitution, 607-687-8535.
• The state Office of Victim Services can cover medical bills, counseling and funeral costs. Call 800-247-8035.
• For release alerts, register with VINE at 888-846-3469.
• A criminal judge can bar an accused family member from coming near the victim (CPL 530.12).