I need to find out three things about my NYC traffic ticket:

1) Are there points attached? (The officer who gave it to me said
there were no points, but that doesn't seem accurate.)

2) If there are points, will they be recorded on my New Jersey record
(I live in NJ)

3) If "Yes" to 1) and 2), who's a good traffic lawyer in NYC?

Here's the ticket description of infraction:

"Failure to yield to an emergency vehicle" Section 1144, sub A of VTL
(vehicle traffic law, I believe)

The officers who gave it to me were undercover police after another
vehicle. The car was unmarked and the officers were in casual,
non-uniformed clothes (i.e, baseball cap, casual shirt).

Howdy writeo-ga,

A reminder of the "Important Disclaimer: Answers and comments provided on
Google Answers are general information, and are not intended to substitute
for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal,
investment, accounting, or other professional advice."

1) Yes, there are points attached to the charge you received.  From a New
York Traffic Violations Bureau brochure.
http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/broch/c49.htm

"Failing to yield right-of-way  3 [points]"

2) Yes, the points will be reecorded on your New Jersey record.  Here is a
web page that goes into the Drivers License Compact.
http://home.pcisys.net/~bpc/auto_law/dlc.html

"The Drivers License Compact require member states to report tickets received
by motorist to the state where they received a license to drive ..."

The states that belong to the compact include New York and New Jersey.  Too
bad you don't have a New York license and got the ticket in New Jersey, as
New York doesn't record points from other states like they share their points
with other states.

3) Here are some likely candidates for an attorney to handle this.

The law offices of Matisyahu Wolfberg.
http://www.formercop.com/

The law offices of Karen A. Friedman.
http://www.newyorktrafficlawyer.com/

The law offices of Veronica Guerrero.
http://www.suabogadolaw.com/

The law offices of Barry S. Jacobson - a former traffic court judge.
http://www.trafficticketdefense.com/

If you need any clarification, feel free to ask.


Search strategy:

Prior work on such questions.

Google search on: "failure to yield" points "New York"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22failure+to+yield%22+points+%22New+York%22

Searched the West Legal Directory, FindLaw.
http://lawyers.findlaw.com/

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

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Request for Answer Clarification by writeo-ga on 16 Aug 2004 09:22 PDT

Hi Denco,

Good work. I did some research on my own on questions 1 and 2 (online
and cornered a few local police in coffee shops!) and found the same
info. Bummer.

My clarification request is this: How did you find the attorneys you
suggested? Was there anything to recommend them as good litigators for
this matter? Or were they just listed in a directory?

Thanks again,

Write-O

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Clarification of Answer by denco-ga on 16 Aug 2004 09:55 PDT

Howdy Write-O,

Agreed, bummer.

I primarily used the directory listings of the West Legal Directory, FindLaw.
I have found this particular directory to be of use in the past, and it has a
good reputation of avoiding the hype that similar directories seem to have.

I reviewed and tried to choose law offices that specialize in traffic law as
well.  Through personal experience of having been in traffic court, it is a
straight forward process for attorneys.

As your infraction does not involve harm to others, etc. (in other words, it
is not that complicated of a case) any competent attorney that specializes in
traffic law should be able to handle it.

From past experience as well, I think it helps to speak with several lawyers
and find one where you like the "feel" of them.  Someone you feel good about.
Someone who is good for one person, isn't necessarily good for another.

I also like the idea of the lawyer being a former traffic judge or traffic
cop, so they either know the current judges as well as knowing the inside
story of the process.

Here is another lawyer that meets the above criteria.

The law offices of Martin A. Kron - former New York traffic judge.
http://www.nytrafficlawyer.com/

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

Four and a half stars.

Good, quick, apparently accurate info that matched the research I did
on my own. The only thing that would have made the answer even better
(and probably not really a realistic thing to expect, from a quick
research request) would have been the name of a lawyer with whom
someone had had a good personal experience in traffic court. (As I
admit, probably not realistic...unless your researchers are also
hard-core hot rodders! But if there are any READERS out there who've
been on the wrong side of NYC traffic court, and have had the help of
capable traffic court lawyers, please feel free to chime in!)

Anyway, thanks again, Denco. Good job!

--Write O

Appreciate the kind comments, Write O.  Glad to have been of service.

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher