I NEED TO CHANGE THE DESK APPEARANCE TICKET DATE

One issue that frequently arises regarding Desk Appearance Tickets concerns cases where the DAT appearance date is inconvenient for the recipient for one reason or another. Almost inevitably, DAT recipients will be told by an arresting officer that all they have to do is "go to Court" as soon as possible and they will be able "get a new date".

This is absurd. That just isn't how it works. I can't even guess how many stressed out people have contacted me after spending a frustrating day dealing with the court clerks who "for some reason" are acting like they can't give out a new date on the DAT.

The Court clerks can't give out a new date because the Court has no knowledge of the DAT case, often until perhaps the day before or day of the first appearance. Therefore, there IS NO CASE TO ADVANCE as far as the Court is concerned.

In some, but not all cases, it is possible for an attorney to arrange with the District Attorney's Office to deal with a Desk Appearance Ticket in advance of the DAT scheduled. This will depend on the District Attorney's Office believing that the reason is good enough as well as the ability of the District Attorney's office to do what needs to be done to create a court ready file by the date required. Advancing a case for the District Attorney's Office involves a certain amount of bureaucratic trouble that they are not obligated to undertake.

Examples of situations in which we have obtained advance dates on Desk Appearance Ticket cases include people who are going into the military or occasionally students who are going a great distance off to college.  Sometimes, especially when people work for New York City agencies such as the Board of Education, or MTA, employees can be suspended simply based on the arrest, even if the relatively simple Desk Appearance Ticket is not likely to result in a job-ending conviction for a crime.  New York City agencies will sometimes not permit a person to return to work until the matter is fully resolved.  Sometimes, we are able to advance Desk Appearance Tickets in these circumstances.  Run of the mill inconvenience is not often perceived by the District Attorney's Office as a legitimate reason to try to advance a Desk Appearance Ticket.

In order to adjust the date of a Desk Appearance Ticket, you need to deal with the District Attorney's Office. If you are charged with a crime by the District Attorney's Office, they are really in sort of a tricky spot in having dealings with you in the first place.

The reality is that if you need a different date for your DAT appearance, the most likely path to achieve this goal will be if you have your own lawyer. If you are entertaining thoughts of taking the police officer's other advice "not bother hiring a lawyer" then you will likely be out of luck. You are free, of course, to contact The Legal Aid Society and ask them to help you try to advance a Desk Appearance Ticket if you think they will be happy to represent you. Realize that in the event that they choose to deal with you prior to the Desk Appearance Date, they will also be required to assess your financial situation to determine your eligibility for free legal counsel.  Otherwise, your greatest likelihood of advancing the case will be to bring in a private lawyer who can try to arrange it for you.

James Shalley has been practicing criminal defense in New York for more than 30 years.

Call 347-612-9830 for your free consultation with JAMES SHALLEY today.