Bill Text: NY A00973 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to default judgments in cases of failure to answer
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-06 - referred to transportation [A00973 Detail]
Download: New_York-2009-A00973-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
973
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 7, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GANTT -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to default
judgments in cases of failure to answer
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 1806-a of the vehicle and
2 traffic law, as added by chapter 841 of the laws of 1984, are amended to
3 read as follows:
4 1. In the event a person charged with a traffic infraction does not
5 answer within the time specified, the court having jurisdiction, other
6 than a court in a city over one million population may, in addition to
7 any other action authorized by law, enter a plea of guilty on behalf of
8 the defendant and render a default judgment of a fine determined by the
9 court within the amount authorized by law. Any judgment entered pursuant
10 to default shall be civil in nature, but shall be treated as a
11 conviction for the purposes of this section. However, at least thirty
12 days after the expiration of the original date prescribed for entering a
13 plea and before a plea of guilty and a default judgment may be rendered,
14 the traffic violations bureau or, if there be none, the clerk of the
15 court, shall notify the defendant by [certified] FIRST CLASS mail: (a)
16 of the violation charged; (b) of the impending plea of guilty and
17 default judgment; (c) that such judgment [will] MAY be filed with the
18 county clerk of the county in which the operator or registrant is
19 located [,]; and (d) that a default or plea of guilty may be avoided by
20 entering a plea or making an appearance within thirty days of the send-
21 ing of such notice. Pleas entered within that period shall be in a
22 manner prescribed in the notice. In no case shall a default judgment and
23 plea of guilty be rendered more than two years after the expiration of
24 the time prescribed for originally entering a plea. When a person has
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03703-01-9
A. 973 2
1 entered a plea of not guilty and has demanded a hearing, no fine or
2 penalty shall be imposed for any reason, prior to the holding of the
3 hearing which shall be scheduled by the court of such city, village or
4 town within thirty days of such demand.
5 2. The COURT IN WHICH A DEFAULT JUDGMENT IS ENTERED MAY FILE SUCH
6 JUDGMENT AND THE filing of the default judgment with the county clerk
7 shall have the full force and effect of a judgment duly docketed in the
8 office of such clerk and may be enforced in the same manner and with the
9 same effect as that provided by law in respect to executions issued
10 against property upon judgments of a court of record and such judgment
11 shall remain in full force and effect for eight years notwithstanding
12 any other provision of law.
13 S 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
14 have become a law.
