What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York
The initial stop occurred in upstate on my way to work. The stop was for a tail light out, but the officer quickly found other reasons to rack up tickets. My license was about two months expired and I didn’t have my registration card, even though the property document was affixed to my window.
I pleaded not guilty by mail and requested a supporting deposition. The justice accepted my plea and scheduled a trial, but I never received the depositions. Before the so-called trial, the citing officer pulled me aside and asked me how we could dispose of the case. When I said I was going to ask the judge to dismiss the case for lack of supporting depositions, he became visibly irate. At first, he said he’d “re-file the charges” against me. He then consulted the district attorney. He made and signed a notarized statement saying he sent the deposition out seven days before the trial was scheduled. To date, I still haven't received the depositions, and it's been about four months.
I faxed the motion to dismiss the case on Jan. 30, on the grounds that I hadn't received the depositions within 30 days of my request(it would have been 43 days If I was to believe the officer's statement), and when I didn’t receive a response the week before my trial, I filed for a continuance. The day of my trial, I received a succinct letter saying my motion was denied and my trial rescheduled to March 13. There was no reason for the denial.
I am up against the wall here, as my trial scheduled for tomorrow. The court has a policy of not granting continuances unless they are made within 7 days of the scheduled trial. I'm really not sure what to do at this point, other than to appear and ask for another continuance on the grounds that I need more time to craft my legal defense(which is true) or hire a defense attorney.
These aren't moving violations and these aren't misdemenors...but they're probably enough this court could bang me for $500 or so...and let's just say that's a financial hardship these days. Any help anyone could provide to at least prologue this trial until I can do some more research would be of great service. I contacted an attorney yesterday, but haven't heard back. I'm thinking the best course of action is to say I'm hiring one and he couldn't appear. Any suggestions?
The initial stop occurred in upstate on my way to work. The stop was for a tail light out, but the officer quickly found other reasons to rack up tickets. My license was about two months expired and I didn’t have my registration card, even though the property document was affixed to my window.
I pleaded not guilty by mail and requested a supporting deposition. The justice accepted my plea and scheduled a trial, but I never received the depositions. Before the so-called trial, the citing officer pulled me aside and asked me how we could dispose of the case. When I said I was going to ask the judge to dismiss the case for lack of supporting depositions, he became visibly irate. At first, he said he’d “re-file the charges” against me. He then consulted the district attorney. He made and signed a notarized statement saying he sent the deposition out seven days before the trial was scheduled. To date, I still haven't received the depositions, and it's been about four months.
I faxed the motion to dismiss the case on Jan. 30, on the grounds that I hadn't received the depositions within 30 days of my request(it would have been 43 days If I was to believe the officer's statement), and when I didn’t receive a response the week before my trial, I filed for a continuance. The day of my trial, I received a succinct letter saying my motion was denied and my trial rescheduled to March 13. There was no reason for the denial.
I am up against the wall here, as my trial scheduled for tomorrow. The court has a policy of not granting continuances unless they are made within 7 days of the scheduled trial. I'm really not sure what to do at this point, other than to appear and ask for another continuance on the grounds that I need more time to craft my legal defense(which is true) or hire a defense attorney.
These aren't moving violations and these aren't misdemenors...but they're probably enough this court could bang me for $500 or so...and let's just say that's a financial hardship these days. Any help anyone could provide to at least prologue this trial until I can do some more research would be of great service. I contacted an attorney yesterday, but haven't heard back. I'm thinking the best course of action is to say I'm hiring one and he couldn't appear. Any suggestions?
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