Not guilty for Traffic ticket? (New York, Cell phone)

Wassermelone

So I was pulled over for being on a cell phone while driving. It happened, not at all arguing that.

However, the police officer told me that because I didn't know about the law considering I just moved up here, that I could plead not guilty at court and have it reduced to a much more minor violation or waive the fine entirely.

How do I go about doing that? Do I need an attorney? The fine is maximum 100 bucks and doesn't add any 'driver violation points' so is it even worth it to do the non-guilty thing? Wouldn't an attorney cost much more?

Metalbourne

Funny, usually they say that "ignorance is no excuse for the law"

And usually pleading not guilty wastes more of your time and money than just paying the ticket would...

Hm...something fishy is going on here.

bowen

NY is pretty liberal about the cell phone laws. You probably could claim not guilty and claim it as "sorry I just wasn't aware of it." Out-of-staters probably get it reduced.

THEPAIN73

Just pay the $100.

It's not worth the trouble.

1ddqd

The actual fee might be around $20, but the court costs are what raise it to $100+

3drage

Nowhere have I heard that ignorance of the law would get you off, I'd have to say the guy was spouting BS.

Spacemilk

Ugh, I typed this up and lost my frickin response. So here we go again:

Obviously Texas and NY will be different, but in Texas I have DEFINITELY plead ignorance and had my fine reduced. Keep in mind people, this is a minor violation and as such they are willing to reduce the fine if there are mitigating factors like this.

As long as you aren't CONTESTING the ticket, which means you claim you did nothing wrong and don't deserve to pay a fine at all, you don't need an attorney. Just go in to the courthouse, get directed to the place where they handle these sorts of violations, talk to the people there and explain your situation, and they will probably reduce the fine. I had a $100 ticket reduced to $40 this way. You don't need a court date or appointment or anything of the sort to do this.

Once again, my experienc was in Texas but if the officer himself is telling you this, it's probably the same way in NY. Good luck!

edit: However if you are looking to completely get rid of the fine, that might be different and yes you might need a court date. Not sure if you'll need an attorney though - at that point, wouldn't the cost of the attorney exceed what you'd save from not paying the fine? Or am I misunderstanding the consequences of this ticket?