Can old tickets be contested?

[mahogany1]

I have a speeding ticket from July '03 that was issued in Batavia, NY. My DL is from Florida but I live in Brooklyn, NY. I sent a letter to the address on the ticket shortly after receiving it that I did not agree with the ticket (I did not get a lawyer). Despite requesting that correspondence be sent to my NY address, they were apparantly sent to my old FL address and finally now forwarded to me requesting payment or a plea - which will result in a court appearance. I am not able to nor interested in travelling to Batavia to resolve this. Can I still contest the ticket despite the fact that it's almost one year old? What are the odds of having the charges dismissed? I am not sure of how much the overage of the speed was. The original ticket did not indicate the amount that would be due if I was willing to pay but the statement now states $200 plus a $35 suspension fee? --suspension date 3/5/04 Does that mean my license will be suspended? Can NY suspend my FL license? I checked with the DMV in Florida and they indicated that my license is still valid.

 

[lwpat]

You must change drivers license address when you move.

First of all it is your responsibility to change your drivers license to your new state when you move. Usually within thirty days. The only exception that I am aware of is if you are active military but you are still responsible for being sure you receive any correspondence.

On top of that it was not a secret that you received the ticket. When you did not hear from the court it was your responsibility to call the clerk.

Your prividleges to drive in NY have been suspended. If you are stopped again the officer has the option of taking you to jail. As soon as Florida receives the report they will also suspend your license. Continue to ignore it and a warrant for your arrest will be issued.

Since you are not interested in traveling to Batavia send them a money order for the fine and be sure the 35 additional is all that you have to pay to get your suspension lifted.

 

[freebird]

I think lwpat has this one correct. I'm not sure that any written correspondence will change things and that the only authority to reduce the fines is the court. I believe there are occasions where you can submit a written statement if you cannot appear (I know that they used to do that in NY) but don't think it will be effective at all. You can call the office (likely a small traffic court) which might be the DMV there and find out what might get done.

If you argue that you don't know what the ticket is for then chances are it will not get dismissed unless the ticket is incomplete and does not show any violation listed. Not showing up in person is least effective.

Originally posted by mahogany1
I have a speeding ticket from July '03 that was issued in Batavia, NY. My DL is from Florida but I live in Brooklyn, NY. I sent a letter to the address on the ticket shortly after receiving it that I did not agree with the ticket (I did not get a lawyer). Despite requesting that correspondence be sent to my NY address, they were apparantly sent to my old FL address and finally now forwarded to me requesting payment or a plea - which will result in a court appearance. I am not able to nor interested in travelling to Batavia to resolve this. Can I still contest the ticket despite the fact that it's almost one year old? What are the odds of having the charges dismissed? I am not sure of how much the overage of the speed was. The original ticket did not indicate the amount that would be due if I was willing to pay but the statement now states $200 plus a $35 suspension fee? --suspension date 3/5/04 Does that mean my license will be suspended? Can NY suspend my FL license? I checked with the DMV in Florida and they indicated that my license is still valid.