To fight traffic tickets issued outside of New York City and the few other Traffic Violations Bureau jurisdictions we must answer to the local village, town, city and county courts throughout the state. Unlike the Traffic Violations Bureau, these are actual courts that follow traditional court procedures and often handle matters beyond traffic tickets. If you fail to appear for your hearing date, these courts may issue a warrant for your arrest.

The most significant things to note about the local courts are:

• Plea bargaining is available. We have the option of negotiating a deal which can significantly reduce the fine, surcharges, points, driver assessment fees, and potential insurance increases.
• If you proceed to trial, the case will be tried by a District Attorney who will ask the officer who issued the ticket questions about your case and assist the officer in establishing the case against you.
• If you exceed 11 points on your New York driving record following a conviction in a local court, the Judge will have no discretion to bypass the suspension you can expect DMV to issue.

It is also worth noting that there can be tremendous differences between the various local courts. Some issue higher fines, some offer better plea bargains, some are only open an hour or two each week, some hold hearings out of a judge’s home. In some courts you hold pretrial discussions with the District Attorney, in some with the issuing officer and in some courts there will be no pretrial discussions at all. Even within certain courts, different judges, officers and district attorneys can have different policies and procedures. Due to these differences, we cannot ever guarantee a particular result on a particular case. However, understanding these differences is crucial as far as the strategy we employ and the recommendations we make to our clients.

Feifer & Greenberg, LLP appears daily to contest traffic tickets in local courts throughout New York. Our partners, associates and of-counsel attorneys are quite experienced and we are proud of our achievements and history of success in these courts.

UPDATE:  There are new laws which potentially affect how a local traffic ticket case proceeds.  Read more about the new NY traffic ticket procedure in local courts.