Benjamin Goldman Law Office Wins Two Appeals in Steuben County Court and Two Clients get Their Charges Dismissed.

Our clients had been convicted in the Wayland Town Court (Steuben County). We filed an appeal to the Steuben County Court. One of our highly experienced attorneys, Codruata Antonovici, filed a Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to CPL §460.10(3)(e), dated March 16, 2026, arguing that the Wayland Town Court had failed to file and serve the Court Return required to perfect the appeal under the Criminal Procedure Law. The Steuben County Court had already issued an Order on January 5, 2026, directing the Wayland Town Court to file and serve the Return within twenty days — but there was no record of compliance. On May 6, 2026, Judge McCarthy vacated the conviction.

Steuben County Court Rules That a Lower Court's Failure to File the Appeal Return — Even After a Direct Court Order — Warrants Vacating the Conviction

Relying on People v. Feldes, 73 NY2d 661 (1989), Judge McCarthy held that the County Court has discretion to fashion an appropriate remedy when a lower court's non-compliance with the Criminal Procedure Law prevents a defendant from pursuing an appeal. Because the Wayland Town Court never filed the Return — even after being directed to do so — the defendant was effectively locked out of their appeal through no fault of their own. The court found vacatur of the conviction to be the appropriate remedy. The People and the lower court filed nothing in opposition.

Key Facts (At a Glance)

• Appellate court: County Court of New York, Steuben County
• Judge: Hon. Mathew K. McCarthy, County Court Judge
• Lower court: Wayland Town Court, Steuben County
• Prosecutor: Assistant District Attorney Paul Barton, Esq.
• Case index: Index No. 2024-0869CV; Wayland Case No. 2310123
• Defense motion: Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to CPL §460.10(3)(e).
• Grounds: Wayland Town Court failed to file and serve the Court Returns required to perfect the appeal under CPL §460.10, and did not comply with a County Court Order directing it to do so within twenty days
• Key authority: People v. Feldes, 73 NY2d 661 (1989)
• Decision date: May 6, 2026 — motion granted; conviction vacated

Lesson of the Day

Losing a trial in justice court is not the end of the story. Far from it. If an experienced traffic ticket attorney is handling your case from the start, there are many seeds that the attorney can plant before the case goes to trial, at the actual trial, and after the trial, that can grow into grounds for overturning the verdict. In our experience, the odds of a county court overturning a justice court conviction is far greater than winning a trial in a justice court. In this instance, the tough stance taken by the prosecution backfired into a dismissal.

Benjamin Goldman Law Office

The Benjamin Goldman Law Office is a traffic ticket defense firm . We like to be known for the tenacious defense we put up for our clients. As in this instance, when the plea offer was poor and our clients were not happy, we continued fighting. Our team did not stop when we failed to obtain a decent plea offer, did not stop at the trial, and did not stop after the trial.

If you are looking for the lowest priced attorney that will take whatever plea offer they are presented with, please do not get in touch with us. If you are looking for an attorney to fight hard for your case and are willing to pay the premium involved in such legal work, then please get in touch with us.

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