Traffic violation procedures
in Criminal and Misdemeanor Law ·
1. If the police wrote all of those citations down during a single traffic stop, they’ll likely just summon you to court once to handle everything at once.
2. Exactly.
3. In my city, the Municipal Court is actually quite flexible, isn't it? For instance, if you can't make it on the specific day you're summoned, it's often possible to call the judge and arrange a time that works better for your schedule. And if you truly can't show up at all, you can just coordinate with the judge to submit your defense in writing, which means you don't even have to step foot in the courtroom.
4. Over my fifteen years of driving, I've seen just about everything happen, haven't I? Here is an example from my own experience:
-I commit a traffic violation
-The Police Department pulls me over and asks if I want to pay the fine right then—I say no, so they send the matter to the Municipal Court.
-A few months later, a yellow notice arrives in my mailbox from the Municipal Court (I know someone at the local post office, so I can always check who sent it).
-I ignore that notice.
-A month passes and it shows up again, so I ignore it once more.
-Two months later, the police are at my door delivering the mail; I take it calmly and sign for it—it's the official summons to present my defense.
-Now, point number three applies.
-Once the court hears or reads my defense, they issue a ruling and mail it back to my house.
-I end up ignoring that yellow notice twice more while waiting for my buddies to drop off the mail for me.
(There's really nothing to fear, as they aren't aggressive; they spend their whole day delivering mail instead of catching actual criminals!)
-I open the ruling, and it says I'm guilty.
-I file an appeal with the Supreme Court in NYC.
-Then, I just relax and put it out of my mind.
-About two and a half years after the initial stop, a yellow notice arrives from the Supreme Court in NYC.
-I pick it up, and inside, it states the statute of limitations has expired.
NOTE: I've been doing this for ten years now, and in that time, seven different traffic tickets have simply lapsed due to the statute of limitations. They have thousands of cases piled up, so there is almost no way they can catch up to resolve them all.
LESSON: Isn't it true that the more appeals we file, the more buried they get, increasing the chances that everything eventually expires?
And regarding your fourth question:
When the police arrive at your home with that mail, imagine if you sent an old friend out to meet them instead? If he tells them you're having a falling out, that he doesn't know where you are, or that you haven't been around for three months and he refuses to accept or sign for the summons, the police can simply make a note of that. They can leave the mail in the box or even nail it to the door, and legally, it's considered successfully delivered.
Well, I hope that helps you out!
Best regards!
2. Exactly.
3. In my city, the Municipal Court is actually quite flexible, isn't it? For instance, if you can't make it on the specific day you're summoned, it's often possible to call the judge and arrange a time that works better for your schedule. And if you truly can't show up at all, you can just coordinate with the judge to submit your defense in writing, which means you don't even have to step foot in the courtroom.
4. Over my fifteen years of driving, I've seen just about everything happen, haven't I? Here is an example from my own experience:
-I commit a traffic violation
-The Police Department pulls me over and asks if I want to pay the fine right then—I say no, so they send the matter to the Municipal Court.
-A few months later, a yellow notice arrives in my mailbox from the Municipal Court (I know someone at the local post office, so I can always check who sent it).
-I ignore that notice.
-A month passes and it shows up again, so I ignore it once more.
-Two months later, the police are at my door delivering the mail; I take it calmly and sign for it—it's the official summons to present my defense.
-Now, point number three applies.
-Once the court hears or reads my defense, they issue a ruling and mail it back to my house.
-I end up ignoring that yellow notice twice more while waiting for my buddies to drop off the mail for me.
(There's really nothing to fear, as they aren't aggressive; they spend their whole day delivering mail instead of catching actual criminals!)
-I open the ruling, and it says I'm guilty.
-I file an appeal with the Supreme Court in NYC.
-Then, I just relax and put it out of my mind.
-About two and a half years after the initial stop, a yellow notice arrives from the Supreme Court in NYC.
-I pick it up, and inside, it states the statute of limitations has expired.
NOTE: I've been doing this for ten years now, and in that time, seven different traffic tickets have simply lapsed due to the statute of limitations. They have thousands of cases piled up, so there is almost no way they can catch up to resolve them all.
LESSON: Isn't it true that the more appeals we file, the more buried they get, increasing the chances that everything eventually expires?
And regarding your fourth question:
When the police arrive at your home with that mail, imagine if you sent an old friend out to meet them instead? If he tells them you're having a falling out, that he doesn't know where you are, or that you haven't been around for three months and he refuses to accept or sign for the summons, the police can simply make a note of that. They can leave the mail in the box or even nail it to the door, and legally, it's considered successfully delivered.
Well, I hope that helps you out!
Best regards!