In New York, is the district attorney required to prosecute violations of a village's local laws and ordinances?

Plain-English summary

The Village of Penn Yan asked what would happen if the village board did not authorize the village attorney or another village officer to prosecute violations of village laws. Specifically, did that vacuum force the county district attorney to step in and prosecute every village ordinance violation in the village?

The Attorney General's office said no. The DA's prosecutorial responsibility under County Law § 700(1) covers all crimes and offenses occurring in the county, but the case law (People v Van Sickle, People v Czajka) lets the DA arrange for others to appear on the DA's behalf in petty cases as long as the DA stays informed and consents to those appearances. Village Law § 20-2006(2) gives the village board authority to grant the village attorney or another attorney responsibility for prosecuting violations of village regulations, with reasonable compensation. The AG said local officers, municipal attorneys, police officers, or private attorneys may prosecute petty crimes and offenses on the DA’s behalf under arrangements the DA knows about and consents to.

The opinion frames this as a matter of practical resource allocation, not as a hard rule. The DA has wide prosecutorial discretion and can decide not to prosecute violations of village ordinances when those office resources are needed elsewhere. The AG concluded that the DA is not required to prosecute village local regulation violations and may concentrate available office resources on serious crimes.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1996. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Who may prosecute village regulation violations? The village board may authorize the village attorney or another attorney to prosecute violations of village regulations, with reasonable compensation under Village Law § 20-2006(2). The DA may also arrange for local officers, municipal attorneys, police officers, or private attorneys to appear on the DA’s behalf in petty cases, with the DA’s knowledge and consent.

Q: Does the opinion require the DA to assign these cases to local officials? No. It says the DA may make such arrangements and may decide that limited resources require concentration on serious offenses. It does not say the DA can require a local official to prosecute or resolve how a village-board authorization interacts with DA consent. See the original opinion.

Background and statutory framework

The DA's prosecutorial authority comes from County Law § 700(1), which makes the DA responsible for conducting prosecutions of crimes and offenses in the county. The Court of Appeals, in People v Van Sickle, 13 N.Y.2d 61 (1963), and People v Czajka, 11 N.Y.2d 253 (1962), held that this responsibility does not require the DA or assistants to personally appear in every case. The DA can authorize others to handle petty matters as long as the DA knows about the prosecutions and consents to the arrangement.

Village Law § 20-2006(2) is a parallel grant of authority. It lets the village board authorize the village attorney (or another attorney) to prosecute violations of village regulations, with reasonable compensation. The opinion does not analyze whether a village-board authorization requires separate DA consent.

The AG concluded the DA need not personally prosecute village regulation violations and may concentrate office resources on serious crimes.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• N.Y. County Law § 700 (district attorney's prosecutorial authority)
• N.Y. Village Law § 20-2006 (village attorney prosecution authority)

Cases:

• People v Van Sickle, 13 N.Y.2d 61 (1963) (DA need not personally prosecute every petty offense)
• People v Czajka, 11 N.Y.2d 253 (1962) (local officers may prosecute petty cases with DA consent)

Prior AG opinions:

• 1979 Op Atty Gen 28
• 1979 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 245
• 1958 Op Atty Gen 117, 119
• Informal Opinion No. 86-61

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/I_96-31_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

COUNTY LAW § 700(1); VILLAGE LAW § 20-2006(2). The district attorney is not required to prosecute violations of village local laws. September 19, 1996

Anthony J. Geraci, Esq.
Village Attorney
Village of Penn Yan
315 Main Street
Penn Yan, NY 14527-0384

Informal Opinion
No. 96-31

Dear Mr. Geraci:
You have asked, in the event that the board of trustees of a village does not authorize the village attorney, code enforcement officer or other village officers to prosecute violations of village laws and regulations, whether the district attorney is required to prosecute these violations. The district attorney has responsibility to conduct prosecutions of crimes and offenses occurring within the county. County Law § 700(1). It has been recognized, however, that the district attorney and his assistants need not personally prosecute every offense committed within their jurisdiction. People v Van Sickle, 13 NY2d 61 (1963); People v Czajka, 11 NY2d 253 (1962). To fulfill his prosecutorial responsibility, the district attorney can make arrangements whereby he knows of all prosecutions in the county and consents to appearances on his behalf. People v Van Sickle, supra; 1979 Op Atty Gen 28; 1979 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 245. Thereafter, "[p]etty crimes and offenses" may be prosecuted, for example, by local officers, municipal attorneys, police officers and private attorneys. People v Van Sickle, supra; People v Czajka, supra; 1979 Op Atty Gen 28. We note that section 20-2006(2) of the Village Law authorizes the board of trustees of a village to grant to a village attorney or other attorney the responsibility to prosecute violations of village regulations and authorizes reasonable compensation for this service. Informal Opinion No. 86-61. The prosecution of violations of local regulations by local officials and others may be necessitated by the limited resources of the district attorney's office. The district attorney has wide discretion in the prosecution of offenses occurring within

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the county and may determine that effective use of his or her office's resources does not permit prosecution of local regulations by assistant district attorneys. 1958 Op Atty Gen 117, 119. The resources of the district attorney's office may be fully required in the investigation and prosecution of serious offenses occurring within the county. Under these circumstances, it may be necessary to rely upon local officials, such as municipal attorneys, to prosecute violations of local regulations of a particular municipality. We conclude that the district attorney is not required to prosecute violations of village local regulations. The district attorney may determine, in consideration of available office resources, that it is necessary to concentrate on prosecution of serious crimes. The Attorney General renders formal opinions only to officers and departments of State government. This perforce is an informal and unofficial expression of the views of this office. Very truly yours,

JAMES D. COLE
Assistant Attorney General
in Charge of Opinions