Vehicle & Traffic Ticket
When issued a vehicle and traffic ticket (simplified traffic information), you must enter a plea of guilty or not guilty, sign and return the ticket to the court. The instructions for entering a plea of guilty or not guilty are located on the front of the ticket. The court clerk must receive your plea prior to the court date set forth on the ticket.
Court Date
The clerk of the court will send you a letter with the date and time of your court appearance after you have submitted a plea of not guilty. You do not have to appear on the date and time shown on the ticket. If you plead guilty, the court will send you a letter notifying you of the fine and applicable New York State surcharge. The failure to remit payment on or before the due date set forth in the correspondence may result in your driver’s license being suspended.
The 1st court appearance is a pretrial conference. You may choose to proceed to trial or speak to the Town Prosecutor. You have the right to retain an attorney to represent you at the conference and at all proceedings.
If offered by the prosecutor, you may enter a plea of guilty to a reduced charge. Fines will be assessed at that time as well as New York State monetary surcharges.
The court will schedule a trial date if your case is not resolved.
Note: Your driver’s license may be suspended if you fail to appear on your scheduled court date. Please call the court and/or send a written request for an adjournment by mail or facsimile at 845-252-7476 at least 5 days before your court date. Absent good cause shown, only 1 adjournment will be granted.