My husband got a ticket for driving on the shoulder today while driving through NYS. And this is even slightly college related because he & S24 were coming back from a college visit! (It wasn’t his fault! he says, he was at the wrong exit in an unfamiliar location and just drove to the next exit which was close and there was lots of traffic and the policeman wasn’t fair at all… )
The last time he got a “pulled over by a cop” ticket (20 years ago, in Missouri, for speeding) someone suggested we get a lawyer to do some kind of magic that converted the moving violation to an equipment violation (?!) which was about the same cost (maybe more with the lawyer?) but didn’t add points to his license and didn’t raise our insurance.
Does anyone know if that is possible in NYS or if it is worth the effort? He did rear end someone in traffic about 2 years ago and got a ticket for that and our insurance went up then. I don’t know if it added points, though. But I’m annoyed (with my husband!) and would rather our insurance not go up, especially since we have 2 male teen drivers already making it pretty high.
We just recently had a similar situation in a different state. My child would maybe get a suspended license if we let the ticket stand. So we used a lawyer referral service in that state and it was well worth it. The lawyer handled everything allowing my child to take an online driving course to get the ticket dismissed therefore never showed up against their driving record.
Here in NJ, you go to the court date (was online during/after Covid), plead guilty to the prosecutor, get a reduced charge with reduced/no points, and pay a higher fine.
Absolutely in NY state lawyer up. We were in a similar situation and called a local lawyer in the town that wrote the ticket. They negotiated on our behalf for much better result. Also, in NYS there can be a 5 year penalty in addition to fines and points if you don’t negotiate for better deal. worth the cost and effort. Easy to do but it cost us to hire the lawyer. Overall came out way ahead.
This was for a speeding ticket.
Are you sure that this is available to defendants who plead “guilty” ?
May work with a plea of no contest “nolo contendere” (a more advantageous form of a guilty plea). Many jurisdictions allow for “deferred adjudication” if one enters a nolo plea.
Reduced charges are typically negotiated with a prosecutor or solicitor prior to entering a plea.
Yes, but the wrong wording typically comes with consequences. In many jurisdictions, a plea of guilty deprives the judge of the ability to offer other legal options.
I assume this ticket was issued outside NYC (NYC tickets are adjudicated by the Traffic Violations Bureau which is not a court). Outside NYC, the matter will be adjudicated by the local court. It’s not for OP to “convert” the case to an equipment violation. That is up to the local DA to offer a plea deal. Whether they offer you this type of deal or not will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but generally, the cleaner your driving record (which you will be responsible for ordering and sending the DA) and the less flagrant the infraction, the better chance you have of getting this thing down to an equipment violation. If the DA is not willing to play ball, you will have to appear in court either personally or by hiring a local attorney to appear for you and hope the judge cuts you some slack. OP, whatever you do, make sure you check the not guilty box on the ticket form you mail back to the court. If you plead guilty, the case is over and you will receive the points for the infraction charged.
It’s been about 30 years since I’ve done it, I remember folks who wanted to plead to lower points stepped aside. My kids and husband have gone as well, but I wasn’t there.
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