Got two "entry without payment" ticket

What is the name of your state? NY

I got caught in the MTA for "doubling up". I got two $60 tickets (one for my friend, who did pay). If I pay the fine on time, will I still have a criminal (or bad) record to affect my future? In fact, I was not intended to double up, but I got too much stuff and my friend went through too slowly, and my ticket happened to have no value left ...

I'm not a citizen, I'm an international student. Would that affect the chance of getting H1B in the future?

Should I plead not guilty by going to hearing or just pay the fine and let it go?

Thanks a lot.

We'd need the exact statute number on the ticket to be sure, but it's possible it's just a violation (like a parking ticket) and would not go on, or affect, anyone's "record".

You Are Guilty said:

We'd need the exact statute number on the ticket to be sure, but it's possible it's just a violation (like a parking ticket) and would not go on, or affect, anyone's "record".

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On the summon, it said N.Y.C.T.A. Rule Violation charged (21 N.Y.C.R.R. PART 1050)

4(a) entered without payment

I don't have / don't know where to find the statute number though.

Thank you very much!

nothappy2008 said:

I don't have / don't know where to find the statute number though.

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Paste "21 N.Y.C.R.R. PART 1050" in to Google (WITH the quote marks). It's the first hit.

Zigner said:

Paste "21 N.Y.C.R.R. PART 1050" in to Google (WITH the quote marks). It's the first hit.

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It gave me:

http://www.mta.info/nyct/rules/rules.htm

So the number is the section number? In any case, it guess it's

Section 1050.4

Payment of fare and access to Authority facilities.

1. No person shall use or enter upon the facilities or conveyances of the Authority, for any purpose, without the payment of the fare or tender of other valid fare media used in accordance with any conditions and restrictions imposed by the Authority. For the purposes of this section, it shall be considered an entrance into a facility or conveyance whenever a person passes through a point at which a fare is required or collected. No person shall, for purposes of gaining entry into a facility, proceed over or under any turnstile or otherwise proceed in any other unauthorized manner through an exit gate or through or past any other point at which a fare is required or collected and it shall be no defense to a charge of a violation of this subdivision that fare media, a fare media sales device or a fare collection device was malfunctioning.

And according to

Section 1050.10

Fine and penalties.

Pursuant to section 1204(5-a) of the Public Authorities Law, any person committing one or more violations of these rules shall be subject to either:

1. criminal prosecution in the criminal court of the City of New York, which court may impose a fine not to exceed twenty-five dollars or a term of imprisonment for not longer than ten days, or both; or


2. civil penalties imposed by the transit adjudication bureau in an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars per violation (exclusive of interest or costs assessed thereon).
1. The schedule of such civil penalties will be set forth in an internal procedure manual of the transit adjudication bureau and may be revised from time to time, including provisions for repeat offenses.
2. In addition to a civil penalty for one or more violations of these rules, an additional penalty, not to exceed fifty dollars, may be imposed upon the failure of a respondent in any proceeding commenced with respect to any such violation to make a timely response to or appearance in connection with a notice of violation or order issued by the Authority in such proceeding.

my ticket is $60 each, does that mean it's not criminal prosecution?

And by the way, how do they determine if that's criminal prosecution or civil penalties?

nothappy2008 said:

my ticket is $60 each, does that mean it's not criminal prosecution?

And by the way, how do they determine if that's criminal prosecution or civil penalties?

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Both questions are related. Where are you supposed to go/pay a fine if you wanted? Criminal Court or "TAB" (Transit Adjudication Bureau)? The former can be a criminal prosecution (but isn't required to be), whereas the latter is only for civil.

For whatever it's worth, most people seem to get TAB tickets.

You Are Guilty said:

Both questions are related. Where are you supposed to go/pay a fine if you wanted? Criminal Court or "TAB" (Transit Adjudication Bureau)? The former can be a criminal prosecution (but isn't required to be), whereas the latter is only for civil.

For whatever it's worth, most people seem to get TAB tickets.

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I'm paying the fine to TAB. So does that mean it's not a major thing, and would not have a great impact on my future background check (done by future employer, or visa or immigration related)?

nothappy2008 said:

I'm paying the fine to TAB. So does that mean it's not a major thing, and would not have a great impact on my future background check (done by future employer, or visa or immigration related)?

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While there's no 100% correct answer to that because no two background checks are the same (i.e. an online "record check" vs. a bunch of federal agents swarm your neighborhood and interview every neighbor, landlord, friend, etc. you've ever had), the majority of background checks will likely not reveal a TAB ticket.

But to be even more certain, call them and ask (347) 643-5805

You Are Guilty said:

While there's no 100% correct answer to that because no two background checks are the same (i.e. an online "record check" vs. a bunch of federal agents swarm your neighborhood and interview every neighbor, landlord, friend, etc. you've ever had), the majority of background checks will likely not reveal a TAB ticket.

But to be even more certain, call them and ask (347) 643-5805

Click to expand...

Thank you so much. I feel so relieved now. In fact, I called them. While they said as long as I pay, I wouldn't be affected in the future and the trouble would begin only if I do not pay. I thought they just want to avoid the hearing and somehow lure people to pay (and thus plead guilty). Then there is no way back. (On the other hand, I googled and found that as this is not a criminal thing, they don't need to prove that I did it on purpose or I cannot have the 'beyond reasonable doubt' way to defend myself. So I think the chance that I can successfully defend myself is pretty low.)

However, if that won't have a big bad thing on my record, I would just pay and let it go. Will be more careful next time when taking subway.

It's really not a big deal. The police give out these tickets because, as it turns out, people who skip paying the fare (or do the other prohibited stuff) tend to be the exact same people who commit robberies, rapes, etc. So by stopping them at the turnstiles, the police make the whole subway system safer. It's not an attempt to ruin the rest of your life

So that means if a person looks like a bad person the police would probably use their judgment and use the first rule:

1. criminal prosecution in the criminal court of the City of New York, which court may impose a fine not to exceed twenty-five dollars or a term of imprisonment for not longer than ten days, or both;

to put that guy in jail. I still feel quite uncomfortable because chances are I don't look good and the police would put me to jail and I would have a criminal record instead of just paying $60 to TAB. That was so dangerous.

i also got a ticket

hi! i and my frnd got ticket for 100$ for entered without payment. i wanted to ask whether will it go into my records and harm my future prospects of wrking here....m an international student .. so pls help...

It is considered bad form to hijack a thread and to necropost (post to an old thread)
Please start your own thread with your own question.

ticket4me said:

hi! i and my frnd got ticket for 100$ for entered without payment. i wanted to ask whether will it go into my records and harm my future prospects of wrking here....m an international student .. so pls help...

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1- Don't hijack an old thread - you should have posted your question new.

2- Did you even read this thread before you hijacked it? Obviously not - your exact question was answered above.

3- While I doubt your TAB ticket will affect your future prospects, your lack of reading comprehension may certainly play a large role.