Are You a Traffic Scofflaw? Misiano Law Can Help!

Perhaps you received a parking ticket or moving violation ticket and ignored it. Or missed a court date because of something pressing and now you have defaulted on the appearance date. Congratulations – you are now a scofflaw! Your license is suspended, and you are no longer able to drive legally.

So, how do you right the mistake? Contact James Misiano of Misiano Law for a free consultation and obtain his experienced counsel.

Many different jurisdictions handle traffic violations. The Suffolk County Traffic and Parking Violation Agency in Hauppauge and the Nassau County Traffic Bureau in Hempstead are the biggest. There are also many town and village justice courts in Islandia, Patchogue, Port Jefferson, and all the various Hamptons.

Generally, you or your attorney must appear and pay a scofflaw fee to get your case back on the calendar. Usually, after 60 days (each jurisdiction is different), you can no longer go back to “square-one,” and you have only one option to lift the suspension on your license – pay the fine and penalty for lateness.  If you don’t do either of these two things, your license remains suspended with no chance of renewal or even obtaining a license in another state.

The Department of Motor Vehicles will send a notice to the address on your license informing you of the suspension. If you have moved and didn’t receive it – tough luck!  If you are caught driving with a suspended license (multiple times) you will be charged with “aggravated driving with a suspended license” – a misdemeanor. If you are charged with this crime or any misdemeanor for that matter, and you don’t appear on your court date, a warrant for your arrest will be issued by the Court.  If you are picked up by the police after that warrant is issued, you are going directly to jail – without passing GO!

If you missed a misdemeanor or felony court appearance – for good cause – that warrant can be recalled and the judge may allow your former bail status to continue, rather than revoking bail and getting locked up until trial. Obviously, it’s important to attend court appearances, but if for whatever reason you miss a date, counsel can help you get reprocessed and remove the warrant.

“That’s what I do almost every day. Call me.” – James Misiano.