No Plea Deals in NYC Traffic Court
🧠 For readers seeking more insights, check out our “Traffic Court Explained” episode on YouTube. This deep dive breaks down the no-plea-deal system, courtroom strategy, and the most common mistakes people make when fighting tickets in NYC.
Here’s the most important thing to understand about NYC traffic court: you can’t negotiate your ticket down. The Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB) runs as an administrative arm of the DMV—not a typical courtroom—and plea bargaining simply isn’t allowed.
That means:
No offers to reduce the charge.
No dropping points in exchange for a guilty plea.
No "I'll pay the fine if you knock it down to a non-moving violation."
Once you plead not guilty, you’re committing to a full hearing where the only possible outcomes are:
Guilty: You take the full hit—points, fines, and any possible insurance consequences.
Not guilty: The ticket is dismissed entirely.
It’s all or nothing.
🧑⚖️ It’s an Administrative Hearing—Not a Trial
Kimberly breaks it down perfectly in the episode: TVB hearings aren’t trials in the traditional sense. They're run by Administrative Law Judges, not criminal court judges, and the standard of proof is “clear and convincing evidence”—not beyond a reasonable doubt.
Translation? You don’t need to be a lawyer to win, but you do need to be prepared.
Read your ticket carefully.
Understand what statute or section you’re actually being charged under.
Come with evidence: photos, diagrams, dash cam footage, and a clear explanation of what happened.
👮 The Officer Will Be There—and You Can Cross-Examine
Unlike many non-NYC jurisdictions where officers might not show up, the officer who wrote your ticket is almost always present in NYC traffic court. Their testimony is crucial to the city’s case—and it’s also your opportunity.
Kimberly walks us through smart, respectful ways to ask questions that poke holes in the officer’s memory or narrative. If you can raise doubt about what the officer saw, remembered, or wrote down, you improve your odds of dismissal.
💡 Strategy Tip: Your Goal Is Dismissal
Forget about “cutting a deal”—your strategy in NYC should always be focused on getting the ticket thrown out. Kimberly shares several tips on how to do this, including:
Never admitting guilt in court (“I was only going 10 over” is still a confession).
Dressing appropriately and treating the judge with respect.
Knowing what language to avoid and how to speak with precision.
Even small mistakes—like admitting to the lesser version of a violation—can lead to a guilty finding.
🧠 Don’t Believe the Myths
A few common misconceptions Kimberly debunks in the episode:
❌ Myth: If the officer doesn’t show up, the ticket gets thrown out.
✅ Reality: In NYC, the officer almost always shows up.
❌ Myth: You can reschedule endlessly until they forget about your case.
✅ Reality: The court tracks adjournments, and repeated delays can work against you.
❌ Myth: You’re better off just paying and moving on.
✅ Reality: Even a single moving violation can trigger license suspensions if you’re a professional driver or rack up enough points.
👩💼 Do You Need a Lawyer?
You don’t always need a lawyer in NYC traffic court—but if your license is on the line, you’re a commercial driver, or the violation is serious, you should at least consult one. Kimberly’s practice specializes in defending drivers in exactly these situations.
And as she points out: traffic court might be low-stakes for the city, but it’s high-stakes for you. If your job, insurance, or immigration status depends on a clean license, it’s worth fighting right.
🛑 Final Thoughts
The NYC traffic court system isn’t designed to help you navigate your way out of a mistake. It’s designed to move cases quickly, collect fines efficiently, and make it hard to win unless you know what you’re doing.
That’s why this episode is essential viewing.
Whether you’re a professional driver, a student, or a parent who just made a wrong turn on a one-way, Traffic Court Explained will give you the tools to fight back smart—and win when it counts.
🎧 Watch the full episode on our YouTube
💼 Visit trafficcourtpro.com to learn more
