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Don't bother going to the NYC TRAFFIC COURT. YOUR GUILTY JUST WALKING INTO THE BUILDING. I got a 73/50 speeding ticket in the bronx. You can't Talk to a highway cop because he's dead set on giving you a ticket. SO a 28 year ticketless driving record is FLUSHED DOWN THE TOILET!!!. I went toThe traffic court to plead guilty with an explanation "Because after all i did speed for safety reasons". Only to be told by this young administrative judge that my clean 28 year clean driving record means NOTHING. They Don't even look up your license information on the computers in front of them. You are either guilty or not guilty. Not guilty means a hearing with the officer.
THE DMV COURT IN NYC WILL TAKE THE WORD OF AN OFFICER OVER ANY MOTORIST. ONLY IN NYC THEY WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO PLEAD YOUR CHARGE DOWN. THE DMV IS THE JUDGE AND JURY. To make matters worse the court fine you paid IS not ENOUGH!!! You will get SOCKED! WITH A DRIVER RESPOSIBLITY ACCESSMENT FEE TO BOOT. SO thinking that there was some form of human element involved in our traffic court system. I found out the hard way that there is no such thing as DUE PROCESS AT A NYC
DMV TRAFFIC COURT.
my experience too .... 100% innocent or 100% guilty .. my 30 plus years of clean driving record never came in to play ..
unlike long island or westchester this is not court . there is no prosecutor or real judge . it is an administrative hearing ..
at best , if you are close to the lower point level you can get them to reduce the points based on radar accuracy but you need to be close to that change over line . it was a waste of time when i went ...
Only saving graces is A PBA card or higher, ive been clocked doing 110 and 145 (don't ask) most I've gotten was yelled at, the second one was a trooper on the whitestone, got me with laser im surprised i even got off tbh a good radar detector and will help in most situations. Lasers you'll need a pricey jammer which is illegal.
White plains is very different then nyc .. you can plea bargain.. nyc is not a court and it has different rules.. there is no judge , no prosecutor and no actual court ...it is a dmv hearing held at the dmv with an administrator
Don't bother going to the NYC TRAFFIC COURT. YOUR GUILTY JUST WALKING INTO THE BUILDING. I got a 73/50 speeding ticket in the bronx. You can't Talk to a highway cop because he's dead set on giving you a ticket. SO a 28 year ticketless driving record is FLUSHED DOWN THE TOILET!!!. I went toThe traffic court to plead guilty with an explanation "Because after all i did speed for safety reasons". Only to be told by this young administrative judge that my clean 28 year clean driving record means NOTHING. They Don't even look up your license information on the computers in front of them. You are either guilty or not guilty. Not guilty means a hearing with the officer.
THE DMV COURT IN NYC WILL TAKE THE WORD OF AN OFFICER OVER ANY MOTORIST. ONLY IN NYC THEY WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO PLEAD YOUR CHARGE DOWN. THE DMV IS THE JUDGE AND JURY. To make matters worse the court fine you paid IS not ENOUGH!!! You will get SOCKED! WITH A DRIVER RESPOSIBLITY ACCESSMENT FEE TO BOOT. SO thinking that there was some form of human element involved in our traffic court system. I found out the hard way that there is no such thing as DUE PROCESS AT A NYC
DMV TRAFFIC COURT.
.
I beat a "no left turn" ticket at 34th and Madison in 1991, and more importantly a speeding ticket on the Henry Hudson in the Bronx in in July 1982. I took both tickets to trial. In the case of speeding ticket I asked that the officer be directed to explain how he calibrated the radar in terms tjat I could understand. Instead he repeated his testimony word for word. In other words, it was clear that he did not calibrated the radar. When I testified I told the Court that I was going " maybe a mile or less than 50 miles an hour or maybe a mile or two more, but certainly not 62. The Judge said "I'm cutting off the testimony and finding you not guilty." The Judge then asked if I was a lawyer and I said "not yet but hopefully I passed the bar."
The traffic light was even easier. My photos showed that the "no left turn" sign may not be visible from the direction I was traveling if there was wind.
I beat a "no left turn" ticket at 34th and Madison in 1991, and more importantly a speeding ticket on the Henry Hudson in the Bronx in in July 1982. I took both tickets to trial. In the case of speeding ticket I asked that the officer be directed to explain how he calibrated the radar in terms tjat I could understand. Instead he repeated his testimony word for word. In other words, it was clear that he did not calibrated the radar. When I testified I told the Court that I was going " maybe a mile or less than 50 miles an hour or maybe a mile or two more, but certainly not 62. The Judge said "I'm cutting off the testimony and finding you not guilty." The Judge then asked if I was a lawyer and I said "not yet but hopefully I passed the bar."
The traffic light was even easier. My photos showed that the "no left turn" sign may not be visible from the direction I was traveling if there was wind.
You can’t compare 1991 to now ....we have no more court in nyc and no prosecutors and judges .. it was all done away with and with it went plea bargaining...you get a dmv hearing at motor vehicles now and there is only 100% guilty or 100% innocent ..the only exception is if you are just over the limit for getting more points speeding you can argue the accuracy of the radar ...they have the leeway if you are just over the bracket to roll you back from a few miles over.
What is wrong with the current NYC traffic courts:
There is no plea bargaining, every ticket goes to trial.
All traffic tickets in NYC are handled by DMV employees (ALJ's) appointed in Albany, not real, elected Judges.
The burden of proof is "clear and convincing evidence" not "beyond a reasonable doubt."
Cases are exempt from the Criminal Procedure Law, applicable to all other traffic courts in New York State.
Defendants can not ask the police officer what conduct they are accused of. Defendants are not entitled notice which is a right in every other Traffic Court in the State. NY CPL 100.25.(2). This means no opportunity to prepare for trial.
Cases often take several years to proceed to trial.
Cases often take several years to proceed to trial.
That at least has the benefit of a large possibility of the officer pulling a no-show.
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