Warning Clients and Friends: DMV is Sending Suspension Letters for Missed Court Dates

Many of my clients have called and emailed and texted. They are very frightened. I felt compelled to reach out to all of you in case you are experiencing this same situation.  We are being told that the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (NYS DMV) is sending letters of pending suspension.

My client, Mohammed, received a letter of suspension for failure to appear on a case in late February.  Mohammed called me in a panic saying he received a letter from NYS DMV notifying him that his license would be suspended by March 27th. My office was able to inform Mohammad that his license will not be suspended as long as we appear for him when court reopens. Whenever a client calls my office regarding a new ticket, missed court date, or old ticket, we have the ability through our account with NYS DMV to search their record. The benefit of my access to the NYS DMV attorney website is our ability to give our clients key information about: their hearing dates, the violations they are charged with, and the points associated with each ticket they have. 

Be aware that any suspensions that were due from the time the court closed (March 17th) will be granted an extension. It is therefore very important to know your court dates once the courts reopen.  A large part of our legal defense services involves managing the court calendar for all of our clients’ tickets.   

We have seen an example where NYS DMV has not done what it is supposed to do. Another one of my clients, Johny,  retained my office and had a hearing date on March 18th. His license had been suspended pending the hearing. We were set to represent him. Following the hearing, his license would have been restored. Usually when NYS DMV postpones a case, they will give a new date without a suspension, regardless of the prior status. But in Johny’s case they rescheduled the case until August, 2020 and continued the suspension in effect. We contacted NYS DMV to remedy the problem, but are still awaiting NYS DMV’s response. This is a very atypical situation compounded by the closure of the Traffic Violation Bureau (TVB) Courts. 

As of March 18th all TVBs in New York City were shut. Since the impact of Covid-19, DMV Traffic Violations Bureaus (TVBs) located in Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island were forced to close down. Do not go to Court. They are not open. Hearings are being rescheduled. Court is scheduled to open in late April, 2020. My staff is working to research the new dates for each of our clients. We are contacting our clients as quickly as possible via email, text, or call. Letters notifying new court dates are also being mailed from NYS DMV in Albany. 

Most local County and Criminal Courts in New York City, Nassau and Suffolk are also closed at this time. You may contact our office if you receive summonses answerable in these courts.  We represent clients throughout New York State in all Traffic and Criminal Courts. We are staying in contact to monitor court openings so that we may manage our clients’ cases to their advantage.  

Police Officers and State Troopers are still issuing tickets to drivers. Even following the Governor’s order to shut down all but essential services, several of our clients have contacted us for tickets issued last week for speeding, cellphone and red light violations.  Continue to drive safely and obey all of the laws. Be vigilant of the status of your license. If you happen to receive a ticket, please do not hesitate to contact my office. We are still working (albeit remotely) to take care of all of our clients. Please call our office on any of the following numbers:

212-227-9008

516-960-8436

516-359-6927

516-546-8279

Or feel free to email us at michaelblock.law@gmail.com. 

Stay Safe!