Coronavirus and Traffic Violations

By Feifer & Greenberg LLP
6:50 pm

We continue to receive many calls from clients with questions about how the court closures may affect their case or their driver license status. As of June 10, 2020, here’s what we know:

The NYC traffic courts (the Traffic Violations Bureau) closed as of 3/18/20 and remain closed “indefinitely” as the country and NYS in particular try to figure out how to “open” back up and what the rules and safest procedures will be. If you have a hearing date that is changed due to the court closure you already have been or will be notified by our firm and the DMV. As of now, all cases through Monday June 29th have been cancelled and we won’t be surprised if the rest of that week (through the July 4 holiday) is cancelled as well until they open back up in some capacity.
If you are facing a deadline for suspension on a NYC traffic matter, the general rule is if it can be fixed by mail or online we will still be required to (and will want to) take the steps necessary to satisfy the deadline. If an in person appearance is necessary, the deadline to appear should be pushed back by the court until the court is reopened. We have successfully petitioned the courts to allow us to fix some matters remotely while court is closed and that has been helpful to many of our clients so please let us know if you have an issue you think we may be able to help fix.
Traffic courts outside NYC all operate independently and any open matters in these courts are handled on a case by case basis. More and more courts are opening up. Some are allowing for some mail correspondence, some video conferencing and some still remain closed. If you have such a case with our firm, rest assured we are monitoring it.

As far as driving on the roads during all this…

Please be careful. There have been numerous news items regarding breaking the record for the Cannonball Run (yes, that’s a real thing) and drivers in general taking advantage of the unusually empty roads. Don’t be one of those people and be wary that there are such people out there. While this applied more to the beginning of all this, traffic still has yet to get back to normal in and around NYC so take care (probably a good tip always anyway…)
The NYS Police previously announced that they would start issuing summonses on a regular basis again. This is partly due to the number of high speeds and other incidents they’ve seen recently and likely partly due to the fact that they, like everyone else, are starting to dip their toes into moving forward again. With fewer cars on the road and a state itching to make up for lost revenue, even the smallest infractions might be in play so keep that in mind as you start moving around in your vehicle again. We’ve most definitely seen an uptick in the number of tickets issued in recent weeks.

If you have any questions about a case we are working on or need answers or help on another open matter or situation, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are open for business, fully staffed, working from our homes and available at our regular business phone and/or email addresses.

PLEASE STAY SAFE!

FREE CASE EVALUATION

FAQ

Your office is in NYC. How do you handle cases statewide?

We have organized a statewide network of attorneys. In our network are both attorneys who work for Feifer & Greenberg and attorneys who work for other firms that regularly provide of-counsel representation to our clients. This statewide network allows us to match clients in a particular county or court with local attorneys who regularly appear on similar matters in the same county or court. It enables us to help clients anywhere in New York State and in our opinion provide particularly effective and affordable representation for our clients. Local attorneys can draw on their particular local experiences and, with travel time and expense removed from the equation, help us keep our legal fees low.

Do you guarantee results?

We can only guarantee that we will provide the best possible client service and legal representation. We can’t guarantee results. These are legal proceedings and we can’t promise you that every case will end in our favor. We will always honestly assess your case (both good and bad) and set realistic expectations during your consultation. We’ll discuss our goals and objectives but no attorney can ever guarantee how a case will conclude.

Should I just pay my ticket or should I fight?

We recommend fighting almost all tickets. Even if the current NY traffic tickets aren’t particularly harmful, you have an incentive to keep your record clean for the future. Convictions quickly lead to surcharges, insurance increases and other complications. You should strongly consider any decision to pay a ticket without fighting.

How can our traffic ticket lawyers help you?

Our lawyers are experienced, prepared attorneys who understand the nuances of fighting traffic tickets. Experience, preparation and good decision making help us to help our clients avoid points, surcharges, insurance increases and the other negatives that can easily result from a traffic ticket.

Common Charges

At Feifer & Greenberg, our New York traffic ticket attorneys are dedicated to helping clients with their speeding tickets. We have worked on thousands of traffic matters, successfully dismissing tickets that would have cost our clients hundreds or even thousands in fines, surcharges and insurance increases.

If you want to fight your speeding ticket, make sure you know what is at stake . Speak with our experienced New York traffic lawyers to ensure that you are taking the proper steps to keep your record clean.

Coronavirus and Traffic Violations