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Until the beginning of this year, anyone showing up to Hudson City Court to settle a simple traffic violation - such as speeding, failure to stop, missing a taillight, etc. -- could count on their charge being reduced that day to a PARKING ON THE PAVEMENT charge, at a cost of $150. This was the plea bargain system that the County Assistant DA, the County Public Defender and the City Judge were utilizing to move things along. No more than a minute after the defendant would sit down in front of Judge Connor, he would ask the defendant "How do you plead to the reduced charge 1201A, Parking On The Pavement?" If the defendant didn't say guilty, or was confused, the public defender would always instruct them to say "guilty." Connor would then set the fee, saying "That will be a fine of $125 and a surcharge of $25. $150. Can you pay today? Okay, pay on the way out. Good luck." And one was done, free to go. No more court, just pay if you can.
Without failure, if you showed up to court on your appointed date, your traffic infraction was reduced then and there to 1201A, parking on the pavement. No one took their case to trial, because tickets were taken care of in minutes at a reduced charge, and the court system was not bogged down in small issues and common violations. Get 'em in and get 'em out! (And there are a lot of traffic violations to be had in City Court!)
The new year brought in a new system, however. Early in January on the first traffic court date, Judge Connor stated to the court that the Columbia County DA's office was "no longer offering plea bargains for traffic violations in court," offering no explanation for the change. (It was kind of a crapshow that day -- the process was not at all ironed out and everyone was confused, even the judge. It's possible Connor had no idea why the change was made, and it's possible he still doesn't know.)
Anyone with a traffic violation ticket now had 3 options: ask for an adjournment to be able to email the DA's office requesting a plea bargain for the ticket; request a trial to fight the ticket; or, plead guilty to the charge now and be done with it. Defendants showing up at 9:00 am expecting to take care of their speeding ticket in court are now told of the change and handed a piece of paper instructed them how to contact the DA's office to request a plea from them. Many people look befuddled and annoyed ("you made me show up in court to hand me a piece of paper?" seems to be the look).
This past Tuesday, March 7th, was a big WTF. A defendant with a speeding ticket was called forward only to be handed the instruction form. Judge Connor offered an explanation to the guy, who had no idea what to do next. "For some reason," Connor told the man, "the DA's office is no longer offering plea deals in court. It's convoluted, but you have to follow those instructions. Go online and fill out the form on the DA's website. Thank you, have a good day." Connor said this in front of a fairly full courtroom, with the assistant DA, Carl Whitbeck, sitting directly in front of him.
Then it got even more nonsensical. A defendant approached the bench with a ticket issued on Feb 7th for Aggravated Unlicensed Operation 3rd, a MISDEMEANOR, not a simple traffic violation. It was the man's first appearance for the charge. Connor asked the defendant if he was aware that the charge was a misdemeanor, not a violation, to which he concurred. Whitbeck and Columbia County Public Defender Michael Howard conferred for about a minute and a half. Seconds later, Judge Connor offered the defendant the reduced charge of 1201A, PARKING ON THE PAVEMENT. "How do you plead to the reduced charge?" Connor asked. The defendant, after momentarily conferring with Howard, his court appointed attorney, pled guilty to the REDUCED CHARGE and was given 30 days to pay the $150.
15 minutes later, a woman approached the bench with a "Registration Suspended, a misdemeanor, and 2 violations," according to the judge. Connor looked at Whitbeck and Howard and said "Let's see if we can get this cleared up today." And they did just that, within a minute. The reduced charge? You guessed it, another $150 1201A, PARKING ON THE PAVEMENT plea bargain in court, to which the defendant readily pled guilty.
You think all that seems ridiculous? It gets better. On the Columbia County DA's website, you can click on a link for a Traffic Ticket Reduction. This is where the Hudson City Court is directing people hoping to settle their simple traffic violations. Not directing them to the City Court's site, but to the County DA's site. Go figure.
On the website, you must fill out and submit an online form to try to get the DA to offer you a reduced charge for your simple traffic violation. This form appeared on the site at the beginning of this year. I have not had the need to use this online form, but it doesn't look simple or quick, and almost all of the requirements were never discussed in court when reduced charges were so easy to come by. Here are some required fields one must fill out -- or go see for yourself! (Any grammatical errors are not mine!)
The Ticket Number
Ticket Info. (You must list the ticket number and each ticket's VTL Statute/Section on separate lines. YOU MUST INCLUDE THE SPEED (e.g., VTL 1180 OB Speeding 77/55 mph)
Upload Copy of Ticket or Official Court Notice
Upload Copy of Driver's Record (or Abstract) from DMV (Do NOT send a picture of your license)
Were You Involved In An Accident?
On the CC DA's site, prior to the form, there are 11 paragraphs in the "How Do I Apply for a Reduction/Plea Bargain? At the end of #5, it says this: "Note: The District Attorney's office does not have copies of your traffic ticket(s)." There are also 6 Frequently Asked Questions explained. No one can contact the DA's office in person or by phone about their ticket(s). There is no similar information on the Hudson City Court's website about the court's new plea deal process. Nothing.
Beyond the absurdity, incoherence and undue burden of the court's "convoluted," time-consuming system of dealing with the simplest of traffic violations, one has to wonder: Why is the County DA's office even involved in traffic violation tickets issued by HPD which are being adjudicated in City Court? Why does the DA's office seem to be in control of how things are done in City Court? Whose court is it, the city's or the county's? Isn't there a County Court in the County Courthouse down the street a few blocks from the City Court?
It's obvious to me that Judge Connor is not happy with the DA's new system, and that he has no control over it. I sense some tension between Judge Connor and the DA's office because of this.
I wouldn't be one bit surprised if the DA's office didn't bother to inform the Hudson City Court last year of their plans for the new year. Connor likely showed up to court for the first time this year only to be told by the Assistant DA: "Sorry, Judge, starting today we will no longer offer plea deals in your court for traffic violations. Misdemeanors? Sure, we will still entertain pleas in person. Traffic violations? No more! They have to do it online from now on. We made the process as simple and painless as possible. Now let's get started."
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