Queens Criminal Court

Desk Appearance Ticket Surge in 2010

The criminal justice system in New York seems to have rediscovered the Desk Appearance Ticket. Increasingly crowded Desk Appearance Ticket days suggest that New York City has reevaluated the procedure in which those who are arrested for mostly misdemeanor offenses are spared 24 hours "in the system" waiting for the first appearance before a judge.

In Queens County, for example, twice per week, 200 case per session all day affairs have replaced once per week, afternoon only sessions of Desk Appearance Ticket cases handled by the regular arraignment judge. Those given desk appearance tickets, because of the backlog that seems to exist, are told to retun to court for their first appearance sometimes months after the arrest.

Whether this is simply an institutional response to the backlog, or representative of a trend toward more Desk Appearance Tickets remains to be seen, but it would certainly make sense in these troubled financial times for the criminal justice system to take advantage of the Desk Appearance Ticket procedure more than it has in recent memory.

It simply stands to reason that Desk Appearance Tickets are far cheaper than the alternative - holding the arrested person in custody for upwards of 24 hours before everything is in place to have the person see a judge. A person who receives a Desk Appearance Ticket spends about four hours in custody, as opposed to an average of about 24 hours in custody for a regular arraignment. Furthermore, a person who is given the opportunity to return to court at a later date on a DAT will have the opportunity to retain private counsel.

Further, the actual outcome of the arraignment of most people with no criminal history charged with misdemeanors will be that they will be released without bail. It would seem to make little sense to spend the resources necessary to hold most of these people for 24 hours.

Whether only temporary, or a more permanent means to save scarce resources in troubled times, those arrested for misdemeanor offenses with no prior history seem to be even more likely to qualify for desk appearance tickets than ever.

If you have been given a desk appearance ticket in New York, you can find a great deal of information right here. Whether you want to know about the procedures, about the sorts of offenses that might be charged, the sorts of outcomes possible, or even whether you ought to hire a lawyer, you will find help in this site.

If you have any further questions, or would like to talk to us about helping you with your case, please do not hesitate to call us at 718-268-2171. We are not the Court. We are a private New York criminal defense law firm with offices in New York City and Westchester County. We have more than 20 years experience defending people accused of crimes in New York, including people with Desk Appearance Tickets. Whether you simply have a question or two, or want to make an appointment for a free consultation to speak to a criminal defense lawyer, please do not hesitate to call.

Call 718-268-2171 for more information about Desk Appearance Tickets in New York or to schedule your free consultation with a New York criminal defense lawyer from Shalley and Murray.

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Shalley and Murray (NYC Office)
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If you are in need of a New York Criminal Appeals Lawyer, contact Law offices of Tom Theophilos at 866-447-7899.

Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT) Information

Read about general desk appearance ticket procedures or click on your specific county in New York City below to check for local procedures.

Online Desk Appearance Ticket Information

If you have received a desk appearance ticket in New York, or if you have been told that you might receive a desk appearance ticket, you probably have questions about what is going to happen to you and what it all means.

Desk-Appearance-Ticket.com should go a long way toward answering most of your questions in a straightforward, easy to understand format.

All the articles in this site have been written by Don Murray, Esq., a criminal defense lawyer with more than 20 years experience handling criminal cases in New York City, Westchester, and Nassau County. Mr. Murray is a partner in the criminal defense law firm Shalley Murray, with offices located in New York City and Westchester County.

If you have additional questions that are unanswered here, or if you want more information, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Murray directly at 718-268-2171.

Read Articles Answering the Following Desk Appearance Ticket Questions:

Airport Desk Appearance Ticket Alert

With two major airports in Queens County (JFK airport and Laguardia airport), and given the heightened security at those airports, there has been a surge in "weapons" related desk appearance tickets.

Travelers appearing at New York Airports who are found to have "weapons" such as small knives, batons, and other similar various objects they may well have forgotten were among their luggage, can often find themselves on the receiving end of a Desk Appearance Ticket and a whole lot more grief than they would imagine was justified.

"Caught" with a blade at the bottom of your purse that someone put there five years ago? Most people under such circumstances would completely understand if the blade or other object were simply confiscated and destroyed.  Most people would not usually expect to be prosecuted criminally, however.

But those who are lucky enough not to be put through the system for such offenses will almost certainly be given a desk appearance ticket for misdemeanor possession of a weapon charges.  These are criminal charges for which a criminal conviction could result and up to one year in jail imposed as a possible, although unlikely, sentence.

Aside from being required to return to New York on the court date, the Desk Appearance Ticket may not be the end of your troubles. The Federal Government (Department of Homeland Security) has a separate penalty in store for you as well - a fine that can be hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

In the wake of the 9-11-01 tragedy, the Queens District Attorney's Office takes any criminal accusation arising at an airport highly seriously. That goes double for any accusation involving a weapon, even a weapon you might consider trivial. You would be well advised to take such a desk appearance ticket highly seriously yourself.