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This is going to be pretty long. Apologies, in advance, and thanks for reading. I was issued a ticket for failure to change my address on my registration on 14 Aug 2014. While I have checked the "not guilty" box on the ticket, I have not mailed it back yet. a.) The ticket was issued in error. The issuing officer failed to explain that according to NYS V and T law subsection 401-3, a motorist has a 10 day grace period to change the address on the registration. While I have owned property in Lockport, NY as of 26 Jun 2014 (which I told the issuing officer), I have also resided in Brooklyn as the moving process has not been a seamless, overnight transition. I currently have multiple residences in New York State. My driver's license reflects my Lockport address and my registration reflected my Brooklyn address. There is no law that prevents me from having a different address on my license than what is on my registration in the event of my having multiple residences. Regardless, my Brooklyn residence has been my primary residence up until 11 Aug 2014. The ticket was issued only five days after my Brooklyn residence ceased to be my primary residence. At the time of issuance, I was under the impression that the alleged infraction was because my registration address and license address did not match. Upon looking into the law regarding such, I realized that was not the case and that I had not broken any law. b.) I rectified the situation with 24 hours of the ticket issuance and changed the address on my registration on 15 Aug 2014. This still puts me well within the 10-day grace period as per 401-3. I got the ticket yesterday. I thought that the citation was because I had a different address on my license than I had on my registration. The way the cop explained it was that I had to update my registration to reflect the address on my license--or perhaps that is how I understood his words at that moment in time. I was prepared to just pay the fine and move on with my life because, whatever, I derped, however pedantic the charge may be I figured I was still accountable for that. But then I went home and looked at the law that was cited on the ticket. It turns out that I was actually NOT in violation of that law. Hence, it seems to have been a simple misunderstanding on both ends. So I went to the DMV today, got a registration with my updated address, and then went to the courthouse figuring they would be like "oh ok" and just dismiss it. I showed the receptionist the new registration and the ticket, and explained the moving situation. She said it was a non-dismissable violation, and I have to plead one way or the other and show up to court. I can't just pay the fine and be done with this mess. It's bizarre because the alleged violation is on par with, if not less serious than, a parking ticket. I'm 99% sure that I'll show up to court, talk to the prosecutor, and he/she will be like "ok cool you fixed it within 24 hours it's whatever" and drop the whole thing, especially if I explain the misunderstanding about the 10-day grace period and the moving situation. However, there's always a 1% chance I might run into a prosecutor who wants to be a petty, nitpicking pedant about it. I sincerely doubt it because then the court would have to try to prove that I did NOT have multiple residences at the time the ticket was issued, or that my Lockport residence had NOT become my primary residence within 10 days prior to my having gotten the ticket (which they would not be able to do with any success). That just seems like such a pointless endeavor on their part, but I guess stranger things have happened in the municipal court system. How should I go about this? I don't think I need a traffic lawyer for as it seems so silly and so easily cleared up. I assume I should indeed plead not guilty, and then when I get a court date, I should request whatever evidence and notations they have about this case. Also, should I send in a letter ahead of time requesting that they should dismiss the case? AvianPundit fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Aug 16, 2014 |
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Aug 16, 2014 20:19
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Holy shitballs dude. Just read this.
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Aug 16, 2014 20:52
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AI probably would have been a better home for this. I've never even thought to look there before because I assumed it was about the mechanical and sexy aspects of cars, of which I have no knowledge or interest. Closing this thread now.
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Aug 16, 2014 21:06
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