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thought I'd run this by people here as I couldn't find too much that focuses on Long Island anecdotes..my wife was driving on Sunrise Highway in Massapequa and made an illegal u-turn to go east, but got pulled over. She got a summons and has no idea what to do and it doesn't really give much insight as to what will happen.
There's no question she is guilty based on the road she was on, but I'm wondering that if one pleads guilty to something like this, are the penalties likely reduced in terms of points on the license and fines? Would she still have to sacrifice a day of pay to appear in court? However, I have heard of people pleading not guilty on different things (speeding) and being lucky enough to not have the cop show up in court. But I would think if you plead not guilty and lose, the penalties may be higher. I am not sure though.
Just want know what I can do to help end this nonsense with the least loss....
Plea not guilty and show up in court along with a hundred others in the room. If she has a clean record otherwise, they will likely plea her down to a lesser offense. Usually don't even have to say a word. Just accept that and pay the lowered fine. Wastes 1 day. We got a $120 ticket lowered to $60. Nassau court in Hempstead.
Guilty? Pay the fine and move on. Or...waste an entire day sitting with the slugs of Long Island to save a couple dollars.
A moving violation can raise someones insurance for hundreds of dollars every 6 months over two years- that can be thousands by the time the fine is paid too.
I'd fight every ticket that can possibly be reduced.
For some people, that kind of money isn't available.
I don't know what a 19 year old who rolls a stop sign is going to do when they county asks him to fork over $290. That's about 32 hours of minimum wage work.
If your wife pleads guilty and goes to court, she will most likely be offered a fine for the same amount but it will be offered as a parking violation as opposed to a moving violation. That would mean no points on her license for this offense. Points = increase in auto insurance premiums and possible suspension of her license of she already has points on her license, or if she were to incur a violation that gives her more points in the near future. It I were her, I would plead not guilty and go to court.
What others wrote applies... traffic court in Nassau is much like Let's Make a Deal.
Send the ticket back with a "not guilty" plea.
Wait for notification of an appearance date.
Show up on the specified day. You will wait for period of time and then be called up.
You meet with the "ADA" - the prosecuting lawyer.
S/he may/may not offer you a deal. This is typically a lesser offense, sometimes which results in no points.
It is a game. They write the rules. You are not guaranteed anything, although typically you get the lesser offense.
One other option is to get a lawyer. This will cost roughly $300-500. There are MANY lawyers who specialize in traffic tickets. They know how to work the system. They will tell you in advance of the _likely_ outcome (no guarantees). They know how to work the system and can generally get a better/more reliable outcome than you can. A lawyer also means you do not have to appear in court - s/he does it for you.
Do it yourself - "free" (only time invested) and a decent chance of reduced penalties.
Get a lawyer - more costly, but eliminates the time burden and offers better chance of a known outcome.
Definitely Not Guilty Plea. You lose nothing at least on initial summons.
Then the ADA will just offer you a deal like a used car salesman and you'll be on your way hopefully paying no points.
The no points part is worth the trip alone.
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