How do court delays affect your traffic ticket?
There have always been traffic courts in New York where it takes a long time to get an appearance date, but since the start of this pandemic that’s gotten much worse. In some Hudson Valley town courts, the wait can be a year or more. That has a lot of impacts, and not all of them are good.
People move away. Life goes on after you’re pulled over and given a citation. Relationships change, jobs change, and living arrangements change. By the time that court date approaches, some people find that appearing personally isn’t convenient any longer, due to moving to a different area or because of another life change. One of the most appealing benefits of hiring an attorney is being able to settle a matter without the hassle of going to court.
There’s more time to save. Fines for some traffic tickets in New York can be hundreds of dollars, and more serious offienses can lead to other costs like the fee to end a suspension (that’s a thing) or the driver’s responsibility assessment that comes after a DWI conviction. It’s possible to estimate the cost of a guilty plea, and maybe a few more months of waiting for your day is court can be used saving up to pay that. However, it’s often more cost-effective to be represented by an attorney, after all the costs are factored in; a free consultation might make it clearer if it’s better to go it alone or not.
Insurance premium hikes will start later. If you plead guilty to a traffic violation, it’s from that conviction date that the clock starts ticking. Your auto insurance rates are set in part based on how many traffic convictions are on your record for the past three years, and it can result in a 10-15% increase in your rates over that period of time. Traffic court delays might give more time to take a defensive driving class to get a small discount. The extra time could also be used to find a competent traffic attorney, who may be able to help you avoid those higher premiums.
License points count from the date you got the ticket. New York drivers found guilty of speeding and certain other violations (such as using a cell phone while driving) get violation points. If someone gets a total of 11 points in 18 months or less, then that license is suspended. While points count from the date of the violation, they aren’t added to the record until a conviction (which includes a guilty plea).
Forgotten cases can cause legal problems. You may forget about a pending traffic matter if getting a date in court takes a long time. If you move without notifying anyone at the court of your new address, it could fall off your radar entirely, and it can be a nasty surprise to get pulled over for a minor matter and learn that your license is suspended. Retaining Selby Legal ensures that someone else is keeping track of the case, and not letting it fall through the cracks.
There is a right a speedy trial in this state, and case law suggests that a speedy trial means less than two years for a traffic matter in New York. That’s still long enough for a defendant to drop the ball. Why go it alone?