Well here is a little bit of an update. I called the town court and asked the lady on the phone what I could do. My court date is on 8/13. The ADA isn't scheduled to be in court that night. She said I could show up and ask the judge for an adjournment for an opportunity to speak with the ADA. Or I can write him a letter asking to consider my circumstances.

(In my best FBHO voice) Let me be perfectly clear, I'm not asking for legal advice on here. I'm merely asking how to proceed because this is all new to me. I don't even know what a lawyer would cost me to help me out in this situation.  I may have one other avenue to explore, but I don't really want to divulge it on here yet.

I never understood this either. The cop clearly saw the phone in my hand as I passed him. I can't dispute that. Was on speakerphone on my dash, but had it in my hand to hang up. I phone call was over before I knew I was being pulled over. I had to ask the cop why I was pulled over.

I don't understand how pleading guilty/not guilty works when I was clearly guilty of having the phone in my hand the moment I passed the cop.

Because, the reality is, no one cares if you are guilty or not, this is all simply revenue generation for the state/municipalities. They can give a shit, guilty, not guilty, its all the same to them...if you plead not guilty, and they throw you a bone by "reducing" the charges to parking tickets with no points means you'll pony and pay them their ransom, they don't care...

Public safety is the face they put on their greed for revenue. That's all that matters to them, really....

Yeah, its a harsh assessment, but their lies are grating....

ETA And why do you think NYS adds a "surcharge" to everything...because a lot of times in these plea deals, the revenues for the actual tickets go directly to the towns, the state doesn't want to lose their share...so they add a surcharge to keep them happy...you just get to pay more.

I know you individual coppers may really be out there for safety, but the system is certainly not...revenue pure and simple...

Your Brainwashed their are no more morals.

Essentially the only reason to ever plead guilty is because the prosecutor is giving you something...meaning you or your attorney came to an agreement with the prosecutor to reduce some aspect of the charge (perhaps the nature of the charge, perhaps the penalty, perhaps reduced or no points), as part of this agreement you agree to plead guilty.  

If you haven't copped a plea, then at least make them prove you are guilty.  Why would you just rollover and plead guilty for no reason...make them earn it.

The cop may never show up.  In many places/circumstances if the police officer doesn't show up (usually several times) the ticket is thrown out.

Also the first thing you should do is scrutinize the ticket.  Is everything on the ticket correct?  Did he spell your name correctly, the correct date, time etc?  

Any attorney that deals with traffic tickets in your area will know what to look for and know what can be done.  The other reality about the law is that it is often an "boys club" if the prosecutor has dealt with the attorney in the past and knows him he's often more likely to make a deal with him than someone he doesn't know.

A good attorney knows the law, a great attorney knows the judge.

I wouldn't be surprised if the MTA will add a cell surcharge since they charge a very small tax on landlines because you call people in other counties instead of driving to them.

Traffic fines should not be allowed as a revenue stream.  All of the money should be used for something else outside of the control of the courts.



I'm not sure what, but if you take away the incentive to fuck us with fines, maybe they won't do it.



Nah, we're fucked either way.

Instead we've got "forfeitures" under the guise of Drug Control....some are legit, other not so, but there are Cops and areas where that's their cash-cow.    
And they  wonder why Sovereign Citizens are such a threat.  

"Admit nothing. Deny everything. Make counter-accusations."

Plea it down to a moving violation.

Now some interesting things about the law

1)  The representatives who passed the law exempted themselves from it.
2)  The cop who wrote the ticket is exempt from it.  
3)  The DA who is prosecuting you for it is exempt from it.
4)  The Judge who will try you case is exempt from it.

Ask the judge for change of venue as you are the only person in the case who is subject to this particular law and you don't feel that you can get a fair trial in this instance.  I have heard that Aimless is taking these cases pro bono.  

I would ask legal experts if a law does not apply to all people equally, it is constitutional?

Yes I agree. In the suburbs of buffalo,  anything that's not a misdemeanor is handled by the town prosecutor.

You get an Ada when you really step in it

I got the name of the ADA who handles my area. I'm gonna try writing him a letter explaining my situation. I'm not sure how to go about it, but I'll figure something out. I plan on taking a defensive driving course and send that in along with my letter. My wife's uncle is a police captain in a neighboring town, so maybe he can give me some advice.

It just sucks right now because money is really tight and bills are starting to fall behind. I'm the only one working at the moment. My son was just born about a month ago, so my wife is out on maternity leave. And we have a 2 year old daughter. I guess we'll see what happens.

I HATE guys who make this shit up as they go along. Here is the actual law, PLEASE show me all these exemptions, other than for on duty Police:

3. Subdivision two of this section shall not apply to (a) the use of a
 mobile telephone for the sole purpose of communicating with any  of  the
 following  regarding  an  emergency  situation:  an  emergency  response
 operator; a hospital, physician's office or health clinic; an  ambulance
 company  or  corps;  a fire department, district or company; or a police
 department, (b) any of the following persons while in the performance of
 their official duties: a police officer or peace officer; a member of  a
 fire  department,  district or company; or the operator of an authorized
 emergency vehicle as defined in section one hundred one of this chapter,
 or (c) the use of a hands-free mobile telephone.
   4. A violation of subdivision two of this section shall be a traffic
 infraction  and  shall  be  punishable  by a fine of not less than fifty
 dollars nor more than one hundred fifty dollars  upon  conviction  of  a
 first  violation;  

It is a traffic infraction. How exactly do you "plea it down to a moving violation"????????????

A plea of "guilty with an explanation" is a plea of guilty.
If you want to try to make a deal, plead NOT GUILTY.

Do NOT write letters to anyone, other than your own attorney.

This is a TRAFFIC INFRACTION. It goes to Village or Town or District Court, depending on where it was written. There is almost certainly NOT an "ADA" who will be prosecuting this case. It will probably be the Village or Town Attorney. In District Court, there may be a County lawyer assigned to these cases. Or, the Police Officer may prosecute. Or there may not even be a prosecutor, the Traffic Violations Bureau has an Admin Law Judge, no prosecutor.

Plead not guilty, appear in Court and see what happens from there.

This.

Never plead guilty.