Traffic Tickets and the Best Defense

A common mistake is to look at a traffic ticket in New York and think, all is lost, there can be no possible defense.  Usually there are several defenses to a traffic ticket and as any good criminal defense attorney will tell you it all starts with the traffic ticket itself.

In New York State traffic tickets are written for any crime or violation under the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL).  Tickets can be written for moving violations such as speeding, non-moving violations, equipment violations even DWI and DWAI Drugs.  The traffic ticket is the basis for a prosecution and it the starting point for the defense to the charge.

1. The Ticket (Simplified Traffic Information)   

The Ticket is usually a half page document, yellow in color, that a police officer would hand you on the side of the road.  A State Trooper may provide you with a full page ticket (white in color) but usually its the front and the back of the “yellow” ticket on one page.  The front of the ticket outlines the charge while the back has instructions regarding how to respond.  The ticket is also known as a Simplified Traffic Information.

The sufficiency of a simplified traffic information is governed by the criminal procedure law.  Because the traffic ticket is the local court accusatory instrument that provides the least amount of information. the recipient is entitled as a matter of right, upon a timely request, to a supporting deposition.

2. The Supporting Deposition

The supporting deposition is a document that explains the charge in greater detail.  The supporting deposition must be completed by the police officer and must allege all of the elements of the offense.  The statute provides that the allegations may be made upon personal knowledge or upon information and belief providing reasonable cause to believe that the driver committed the offense charged. 

3. Probable Cause

The ticket and supporting deposition together must provide probable cause to believe that the traffic offense in questions was committed.  A supporting deposition that contains boxes checked off by the police officer is sufficient.

4. Time to request a Supporting Deposition from the Police

In some cases a driver will receive a supporting deposition from the police with the traffic ticket, usually issued by the State Police, but in most instances the police officer will only provide a traffic ticket without a supporting deposition.

The request a supporting deposition must be made within 30 days of the court appearance noted on the ticket.  Where the charge is a misdemeanor such as DWI or reckless driving the driver may request a deposition beyond the 30 day period up to 90 days with permission of the court.

5.  The Plea 

Always plea NOT GUILTY to a traffic ticket.  In most cases an experienced criminal defense lawyer can get the charge dismissed or reduced.  A guilty plea is the same as if you went to trial and were found guilty by the judge or jury.  Your best option is to contact one of our experienced criminal defense lawyers to aggressively attack the ticket and its contents even before appearing in Court.

A plea can be entered in court on the date at the bottom of the ticket or by a signed statement on the ticket by mail.  When pleading not guilty by mail, the plea must be sent by registered or certified or first-class mail and within 48 hours of receiving the ticket .  A driver may plea not guilty by mail and request a supporting deposition.  FAILURE to act in a timely matter will cause a loss of the right to the supporting deposition.

6.  Service of the Supporting Deposition

The deposition must be provided to the driver within 30 days of the court’s receipt of the request for it OR 5 days before trial whichever comes first.

7.  Failure to provide a Supporting Deposition

When the court orders the filing of a supporting deposition and the police officer fails to comply in a timely manner the ticket is rendered insufficient on its face and may result in a dismissal. 

The above is one of the basic and best defenses to traffic tickets.  Although there are many defenses this requirment always remains at the core.  It is important to have a traffic ticket attorney since the police officer may try to submit a late supporting deposition or other method to prevent the case from being dismissed.  Our traffic ticket attorneys are prepared to protect your rights and provide you with the best possible criminal defense either in a traffic ticket case, DWI case or other criminal matter.

If you have questions regarding your criminal matter or traffic ticket case call one of our attorneys for a free consultation. 

The best defense is a strong understanding of the criminal procedure law and how each court operates in New York State.

When clients come to our office and speak with our New York DWI lawyers, they tell us stories about the police and how they were treated during a DWI arrest.  Most of the information from those charged with DWI is very similar and the police always have the advantage not because they are “all powerful” but because they have a better understanding of the New York State DWI laws than the average person. 

In Westchester County and other Counties in New York State, the local police and State police have a set of procedures they follow in order to build a DWI case against you. 

Since most people don’t know the DWI laws….

………the police can appear friendly, but are taking advantage of the fact you don’t know the DWI laws.

Our New York DWI attorneys are always willing to educate our clients about the DWI laws and how to protect your rights. 

With just a basic understanding of the New York DWI laws this can take the advantage from the police and explain the DWI process.  The DWI laws in New York are complex and how the police enforce them can be inconsistent, but the following can be used to help you get a better understanding of the DWI laws in New York State and how our DWI attorneys in Westchester County or any County in New York protect your rights.

1. When pulled over for suspicion of DWI, the police are immediately building a case against you.
2. The Police can decieve you and most of the time will.
3. You can and should ask for your DWI lawyer immediately.  Be persistent such as “I want to talk to a lawyer now!!” Don’t say something such as “maybe I should get a lawyer?”
4. Never make any statements to the police despite any promises they police may make to you.  Never admit to drinking.
5. All the field sobriety tests (FST) will be used against you at trial.  You have the right to refuse those tests.
6. The handheld breath test used on the side of the road is usually not admissible in court and they tend to register a high reading.
7. .08% is the legal limit in New York State  but you can be arrested for a BAC as low as .06%.  Between .06% and .07% the DWI charge is called Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI) a lesser included offense of DWI (.08% and above).
8. The police can arrest you if they feel your ability to drive is impaired by drugs.  The offense Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs is just as serious as regular DWI.
9. Other methods of testing your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) include blood and urine which in some cases is less reliable than breath tests.
10. The BAC tests are strong evidence of your guilt.  However, if you refuse those tests you face greater consequences with DMV.
11. If you have a high BAC reading the Westchester County, Bronx County Rockland County, Putnam County, Dutchess County, and Orange County District Attorney’s Office will be less likely to enter into a plea bargain if our DWI attorneys can’t get the case dismissed.  This informal rule applies for most of New York State.
12. If you have a CDL driver’s license in New York and arrested for DWI you risk losing your CDL permanently.
13. Most police cars have cameras but few turn them on since that tape will have to be turned over to the our New York DWI lawyers.  Also, any notes the police take must be turned over to your New York DWI attorney.
14. DWI in New York State unlike many other crimes can have a long term impact on your license and insurance.
15. The fees DMV charge if your arrested and/or convicted of DWI can exceed over $1,000.00.
16. A DWI charge is a felony if you have a previous conviction in the past 10 years.

In many DWI, cases these issues appear over and over.  Our DWI lawyers at Riebling, Proto & Sachs, LLP are former prosecutors and know the procedures and polices of various police departments and the State Police.  Our goal is to protect you against any felony charges and/or sentencences for misdemeanor under the DWI laws of New York State.

If you are arrested in New York State for DWI you should speak with a DWI lawyer immediately.  Feel free to call us for a free consultation. 

It is difficult to make snap decisions on the side of the road with the police lights flashing in the background.  The number one rule is to ask for your DWI lawyer as soon as possible.

As a criminal defense attorney in New York, one of the best ways to challenge the prosecution’s case is to make a motion to dismiss the criminal charges. 

In every criminal case an attorney may make a motion to dismiss for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes these motions are not necessary but they can also be a very powerful tool for the experienced criminal defense lawyer.   

In the Yorktown Justice Court, Attorney David Sachs, had all the charges dismissed against a Jefferson Valley client of the firm.  The client was cleared of five misdemeanor counts of falsely reporting an incident.  The case stemmed from a series of allegations made against parents whose children played in the town’s youth soccer program.  The reports came via a telephone line run by the State Office of Children and Family Services and claimed that the parents had mistreated their children.  Westchester County CPS investigated the claims and determined that they were unfounded.

The Police attempted to link the client to the false reports and the prosecution filed criminal charges.   

The client with a prior attorney was encouraged to take a plea deal, but, luckily for the client, David Sachs was hired as his new lawyer.  Mr. Sachs analyzed the case and was successful in his motion to dismiss all five counts.

In order to protect your rights every aspect of a case needs to be analyzed. 

Pretrial motions in any local criminal court may be successful in dismissing a criminal case.

*****

If you would like to have your criminal matter reviewed by David Sachs or any member of the firm feel free to contact us for a free consultation.  The firm regularly appears in all courts in Westchester, Bronx, Rockland, Putman, Dutchess and Orange Counties on many types of criminal defense. David Sachs is also a former Assistant District Attorney.

In any criminal case the rules of evidence apply.  In order to be found guilty the prosecutor must present admissible evidence of your guilt.  Any failure to present admissible evidence could prevent the prosecution from proving an element of the crime.  In many DWI or driving while ability impaired (DWAI)  cases, urine or blood tests are taken and need to be admitted in order for the prosecution to prove intoxication accroding to DWI laws in New York State.

In order for urine (blood) test to be admitted at trial, prosecutors must present testimony from the lab technicians who preformed the tests. 

In People v Levy, 2008 NY Slip Op 51878(U), the prosecution presented testimony from the police officers who handled the sample before it was mailed to an out of state lab for testing, the lab employee who received the sample and placed a portion of it into test tubes, and a supervisor from the lab testified.  The lab supervisor testified about the normal procedures the lab follows when it receives and tests a urine sample, and he determined, after reviewing the lab’s 300 page litigation package that tests were preformed on the defendant’s sample. 

The court concluded that the results of the DWI urine tests were NOT admissible.

The prosecution failed to present testimony regarding the chain of custody for the test tube samples.  A witness was needed with personal knowledge about the tests preformed.  The Court also refused to admit the lab’s litigation package under the business exception rule.

This summer I successfully defended a DWI blood reading of .24 in White Plains.  I was able to have the blood results suppressed on a similar basis as above. 

In my case the prosecution failed to present evidence that a physician or someone under a physician’s supervision drew the blood. 

The White Plains Court also refused to admit evidence of the blood sample results under the business exception rule in that ruling that live testimony is needed.  The result was a not guilty jury verdict.

Andrew Proto