Pro Se Defendant's Obligation To Provide Info

[DRN]

New York State

Is a driver obligated to complete all of the information on the back of a uniform traffic ticket when submitting a "not guilty" plea by mail?

Driver pled "not guilty" (checked box), signed on appropriate line, checked box to request supporting deposition, but did not fill in the address information. Defendant used his correct address in his letter to the court, on the envelope, and on the Return Receipt.

Police officer filled out ticket with incorrect address information (New York does not issue a new license when you change address, they simply update their records).

Approximately 45 days have passed and the person has not received the supporting depositon. New York law states he must get it within 30 days of request or 5 days prior to trial, whichever comes first.

Since New York police have access to DMV records from their patrol cars, and defense attorneys are not obligated to point out prosecution errors, is the defendant, who is acting Pro Se, obligated to point out the officer's mistake by filing in the address information on the back of the ticket?

Is he still entitled to dismissal for not receiving the supporting deposition in the required time frame?

 

[loocpoc]

"Is a driver obligated to complete all of the information on the back of a uniform traffic ticket when submitting a "not guilty" plea by mail?"


Yes. The information is to make sure you appear in court and usually the fine amount is used as a bond.

"Since New York police have access to DMV records from their patrol cars, and defense attorneys are not obligated to point out prosecution errors, is the defendant, who is acting Pro Se, obligated to point out the officer's mistake by filing in the address information on the back of the ticket?"

The defendant can point out the error on the citation however, I would not say that it MAY not be a defense for the citation being dismissed. I have made errors on tickets before and usually have never had them dismissed because of an error.

 

[DRN]

Thanks for answering. I think I read in another thread that you are, or were, a police officer.

I know that writing the wrong address is not grounds for dismissal. At least from what I've read in case law, that is a curable error.

My question is regarding the service of the supporting deposition, which is obviously tied to the address. If the supporting deposition was served, but mailed to the wrong address, and the Defendant didn't receive it in the required time frame, does that warrant dismissal?

Normally, it would. The statute is clear, as is the time requirement.

The gray area here is whether the Defendant, who is acting as his own attorney and notices an error that could result in dismissal (wrong mailing address on ticket), is that Defendant obligated to point out the error to the Court prior to the event (mailing to wrong address) that could result in dismissal?

Attorneys are obligated to vigorously defend their clients. Therefore, if a Pro Se defendant notices the wrong address, realizes that the supporting deposition could possibly go to the wrong address which would result in a dismissal, is he vigorously defending himself by not filling out the address section on the back of the ticket (but using his correct address for the correspondence), thus giving his "client" a chance at dismissal due to an error by the prosecution?

 

[stephenk]

i dont think a traffic judge will be impressed with your intentional misrepresentation of your current address. since you left your current address blank on the back of the ticket you implied your address was correct on the front of the ticket.

basic information like name and address are not protected information.

 

[DRN]

Thanks for your response. It wasn't me, though.