Supporting Depositions

In any Court outside of the Traffic Violations Bureau a motorist has the right to request that a supporting deposition be issued and served on them, or on their attorney when they are charged with any traffic violation. This request must be made within 30 days of the arraignment date. Criminal charges always require that criminal information be issued in support, even if the defendant does not request it.

On most traffic tickets an option to request a support deposition is included on the ticket in the portion where pleads guilty or not guilty. Simply checking the box or circle indicating that one requests a supporting deposition when mailing in the not guilty plea is sufficient.

Defects in Supporting Depositions

A supporting deposition must describe all of the elements of the alleged violation. If a supporting deposition is not issued correctly, the violation may be dismissed upon a Pre-Trial motion.

A supporting deposition is invalid if:

1. It is not issued timely, which is 30 days after the Court receives such request.

2. If the supporting deposition is served on the defendant when the defendant is represented by an attorney, if the Court is informed that the defendant is represented.

3. If the issued supporting deposition is lacking in specific details alleging all of the elements of the offense.

4. The police officer can not use a conclusion of law to support the traffic allegation. For instance, a office may not say that the lane change was “unsafe”. The officer must describe why the it was unsafe to change lanes.

Pre-Trial Motion to Dismiss

If a violation does not have the required supporting deposition that ticket may be dismissed upon a Pre-Trial motion. Many Courts try to shield the invalidly of these tickets by requiring that a “Pre-Trial Motion to Dismiss” be submitted correctly in writing. There are specific requirements in each court for such Pre-Trial Motions that the layman is not familiar with, including service on the Court, and prosecutor or police officer.

For traffic violations issued in the City of New York, City of Rochester and City of Buffalo a supporting deposition does not need to be issued.

Reissuance of the Traffic Violation

If a traffic ticket is dismissed due to the lack of a supporting deposition, a police office may – within one year – issue a new traffic ticket for the same offense. This new traffic ticket must be served on the defendant, and service by mail in not valid for this reissuance. For this reason, many police officers do not chose to reissue traffic violations for tickets which were dismissed due to a lack of a supporting deposition.

Attempting to create a Pre-Trial motion to dismiss by yourself may result in the loss of your case. It is important to hire a knowledgeable New York traffic ticket lawyer to handle the matter for you. Schedule a free consultation today.

Contact The Firm

If you have further questions regarding Supporting Depositions, do not hesitate to contact a skilled New York traffic ticket attorney. Our office can be reached by calling 800-464-8269 or by completing our online contact form. We offer free initial consultations and accept credit cards as payment for services.