On a case by case basis, they might. But first, make sure you understand what you are charged with, what your cell phone records show, and what your cell phone records do notshow.
There are two sections of the Vehicle & Traffic Law that address cell phone usage while driving. Both charges carry a penalty of five points, but they’re very different, and it’s important to distinguish between the two.
- VTL 1225(c)(2)(a) prohibits making or receiving a phone call while operating a motor vehicle. For shorthand, attorneys call this a “cell phone” ticket.
- VTL 1225(d)(1) prohibits operating a portable electronic device while operating a motor vehicle. We call this an “electronic device” ticket.
The original section of law is the cell phone ticket. In the time before smartphones, that’s all cell phones were used for. They were for phone calls and maybe a game of Snake.
If you get a cell phone ticket, it means you did something that made the officer believe you were speaking on a cell phone while driving. Perhaps you had the phone to your ear, or to your mouth, and your mouth was moving. The officer saw this activity and concluded that you were speaking on the cell phone.
But today, the more common charge is for operating a portable electronic device. That’s because, in 2026, the phone is simply a rarely-used application on your cell phone. We use our cell phones to text, surf the Internet, scroll on social media, shop, play games, and who knows how many other activities both useful and amusing.
If you get an electronic device ticket, it means you did something that made the officer believe you were doing one of the above things while driving. Perhaps you had your cell phone in your hand and were glancing up and down at it while driving. The officer saw this activity and concluded that you were operating a portable electronic device.
Today, most people rarely use their cell phones for talking anymore. That’s why the electronic device charge has become more common.
And if you’re charged with electronic device, a phone bill is of no use.
Phone bills are simply not detailed enough to cover the thousands of activities we do with our cell phones. Your phone bill can’t know if, at a specific date and time, you glanced down to see a text message or played a triple world score in Words With Friends. (Does anyone still play that? Sorry, bad example.) It adds nothing to your case, which means it detracts from your case because it’s likely to annoy the judge and waste the court’s time.
Now if you got a cell phone ticket, there’s a chance the phone bill will help you. But first, do some legwork.
Make sure your phone bill covers the exact date and time of the violation. Phone bills go line by line, and can be dozens if not hundreds of pages long. Find the exact date and time when the ticket was issued and see if your bill shows a phone call. (If it does, throw the phone bill in the trash, because it’s now ad admission.)
But if the bill shows that no phone call occurred at the specific date and time on the summons, you’re in business.
Bookmark or highlight the relevant time so that the Court doesn’t have to find it during your trial. Judges get annoyed easily and they don’t want to do extra work.
Many phone plans have multiple phone numbers on a single plan. Make sure your bill shows every single number on the plan. Otherwise, a judge may wonder if you purposely showed the Court someone else’s phone activity as opposed to your own.
Make sure that you have something from the phone company establishing that the number shown on the bill is actually your number. Again, many people in 2026 have multiple cell phones. Judges are shown all kinds of proof, much of it dubious. Many of them are cynical. Do not give them a good reason to doubt your evidence.
Got all that? If the above applies to you, then your cell phone bill might help get your ticket dismissed.
But guess what? Even if it does, you probably have a better chance of winning by hiring an attorney. Feel free to call or message my office to discuss your cell phone ticket.