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Missed or Failed to Respond to a Court Date

Although courts have the ability to contact the DMV to have your New York License or Privilege to drive in New York suspended if you miss a court date, this process can take several weeks. If you contact John shortly after the court date was missed, any impending suspension can be lifted. In the case where several weeks have passed and if your license is suspended that can generally be lifted as well although additional DMV penalties or even bail may be required in order to have the license reinstated. Contact John and he can provide a consultation to explain your options.


Most tickets include the fine print “Note: Mail this NOT GUILTY Plea with 48 hours. The court will notify you by First Class Mail of your appearance date.” Courts do not enforce this statement. The most important date on the ticket is the return date below the court location on the ticket. If you did not mail your ticket to the court within 48 hours this will not affect your rights or ability to fight the ticket. In fact, because of a legal grace period, even missing the return date by less than 60 days will not affect your legal rights. With that being said, it is recommended that you contact an attorney or the court to take care of the ticket as soon as possible.