A new state watchdog agency for people with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities has the authority to prosecute offenses in town and village courts, a judge has determined.

Tompkins County Court Judge John Rowley ruled in People v. Davidson, 2014-9091-A, that the law creating the Justice Center for Protection of People with Special Needs, Executive Law §550, empowers the agency to prosecute cases of abuse or neglect of the disabled in local courts.