The Myth: I missed my court date. Now, my license is suspended.
Not necessarily.
In the Traffic Violations Bureau courts of New York City, you won’t get suspended immediately after missing a court date.
The suspension will process 30 days after the missed date. And suspensions don’t get processed on weekends, so if the 30th day is a Sunday, you’ll get till the end of business the next day.
In that 30-day period, you have the ability to request a new court date. Keep in mind, this is not as easy as it sounds. Many judges are tough on reschedules, especially for tickets that are older or that have been rescheduled before. Before appearing on your own to reschedule a missed date, consider calling our office for a consultation.
After the suspension processes, you can still get yourself a new court date, but it may become harder still. Some judges may hold the suspension against you and offer you a date with a suspension, meaning your license remains suspended until the court date. And you will owe a $70 suspension termination fee to the Court for each ticket on which you are suspended. These days, that fee is due after the case is finished; your license will become valid upon the new date being granted.
