Bronx, NY asked in Traffic Tickets for New York

Q: Is pleading to 1101 (0 pts) advisable to a court appearance for 1111D1 ?

I was given a ticket for VTL-1111D1 by an officer claiming I passed a red light. he was sitting at the corner of the intersection which already has a traffic camera. I entered the intersection when it was still yellow light but the intersection was wide (4 lines) so by the time I passes it could have shown as red light when the officer looked up. I believe if I get the traffic light camera footage it would show otherwise. I went back to time the traffic light, the yellow light only lasted 2 seconds, clearly not enough to cross the 4-line intersection if one enters the intersection when the light was yellow. It would not be safe to stop the car in the middle of the intersection either. Do I have a case? Please advise.

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2 Lawyer Answers
Howard E. Knispel
PREMIUM
Howard E. Knispel
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Commack, NY
  • Licensed in New York

A: Whether you have a case is, unfortunately, not the real issue. This is an administrative tribunal. The judge is an employee of the agency and is pressured to find people guilty. Your proof would have to be so overwhelming that the judge would be willing to jeopardize his job to find you not guilty. Without video footage the judge will believe the officer's testimony over yours every day.

Toshinori Isoai
Toshinori Isoai
Answered
  • Traffic Tickets Lawyer
  • New City, NY
  • Licensed in New York

A: It depends. If you received the ticket (3points) for 1111D1 in NYC and that's the only ticket you got, then your case will be heard in the place called "Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB)" which looks like another court but it's actually an administrative "agency" run by the NY DMV, not the "real" court you may think of like NY Supreme Court in "Law and Order". If your case is pending in TVB, there is no plea bargain allowed, which means you are going to have to fight the charge and either get a not guilty at the end or get the case dismissed. No plea to 1101 or anything other than the original violation will be accepted or offered by anyone and there is no prosecutor in TVB.

If, however, 111D1 was issued outside the City like Yonkers, and you got the offer to plead to the amended charge of 1101, then you may want to plead to that because 1101 is not an offense; it's administrative in nature. It won't probably be reported to the DMV, nor have any points assessed. Due to the nature of the section, 1101 isn't suitable for a plea offer, but if it's put on the table, you may want to take it and go on with your life.

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