Red light camera tickets in New York are not easy to beat—usually they have a pretty good picture/video of your car with the license going through the red light.
I got one of those tickets once, but I was able to show there were other circumstances that caused me to go through the light. I was able to get it dismissed.
It was a few years ago on July 4th at night. I was driving through Brooklyn as a wide assortment of fireworks and firecrackers went off around me. As I pulled up to the light, I realized there was a fire in the garbage can on the corner and kids were shooting off Roman candles.
My wife was with me in the car and, not feeling at all safe, I drove through the light intentionally and away from the danger.
I had filed the incident in the back of my mind when a few weeks later I received a red light ticket in the mail. I knew I had gone through the red light, but it was intentional and for a reason.
I decided to go to the traffic court and tell the judge my story. He listened but did not dismiss the ticket. Instead he wrote that while he found me and my witness (my wife) to be credible, he was going to let the ticket stand.
I talked to our lead criminal defense attorney, Ira Rosenberg. His words, “Fight this and you will win. He said you and your witness were credible, they will have to throw the ticket out.”
So that is what I did, and I did indeed get the ticket dismissed. If you get a ticket for going through a red light or other traffic violations and you feel you did it because of a justifiable reason, you may be able to successfully fight it. If you can prove that you were justified in going through the light—for your safety or someone else’s—you may have a case. This may include:
If you have any questions about a traffic ticket you received, give us a call. Our defense team, led by Ira Rosenberg, has 25 years fighting tickets and getting justice for clients.
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Goldstein and Bashner
