Legal Question in Traffic Law in New Jersey

Length of time to get a ticket to a ''offender''

My husband had an accident on 5/11. A ticket was not issued at the scene or next day when the vehicle was released by the PD. The ticket was mailed to street address, even though the PD had mailing address. The ticket went back to the PD but was not remailed to mailing address until 7/19. It was sent certified. We didn't p/u until about 2 weeks later (irrelevant, I'm sure). If an officer only has 30 days to issue a ticket, how long do they have to deliver it to the ''offender''? Can I contest the ticket solely on the fact that it took them over 60 days to mail it to me? If so, what statute do I quote?

1 of the tickets that was for an ''unsafe vehicle 39.3.44''. The vehicle was parked, in gear, with the emerg. brake on & a block of wood under 1 of the tires. It popped out of gear & rolled into a garage, a car & over a retaining wall. We had just registered the vehicle the day prior. The previous owner had the vehicle inspected (we still had time to do so) and it had passed. Therefore I feel that 1) the vehicle was deemed safe by the State of NJ and 2) that my husband exercised due diligence in securing the vehicle in a safe state when he parked it, as was witnessed by the Chief of Police. Any suggestiions on arguements?


Asked on 8/11/04, 12:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Ronald Aronds Law Office of Ronald Aronds, LLC

Re: Length of time to get a ticket to a ''offender''

You don't actually say when the tickets were mailed to your street address, but as long as they were issued within thirty days of the incident and sent to the address of record for you that is listed at the Division of Motor Vehicles, that is sufficient for any court to say they were legitimate and timely issued summons. See NJSA 39:5-3. Furthermore, the fact that your car caused damage to property when it fell off the block holding it up could be seen as a violation of 39:3-44 ("endangering or likely to endanger person or property"). It sounds like you will have to go to court on the summonses and most likely the judge will not dismiss them as untimely. Nevertheless, any ticket can be fought if the facts of the situation under which it was issued warrants it. Otherwise, it may be possible to work out some type of plea deal. I am an attorney who has handled many cases similar to yours in various courts in the State of New Jersey in the past. Please call me at 1-908-272-0111 to discuss what I can do to assist you in this matter. There is never any fee for simply discussing a case with me. Thank you.

Sincerely yours, -Ronald Aronds, Esq.-

www.njworkerscompensationlaw.com

Read more
Answered on 8/11/04, 12:30 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Traffic Law questions and answers in New Jersey