Legal Question in Constitutional Law in New York

Re: College student taken advantage of

I'm not really sure what you're complaining about re: the summons; was it missing the court date or the date on which you were cited? I don't know whether omitting this information would matter unless you were penalized for not having it. My sense is that you are just mad that a technicality you thought would undermine the case against you didn't have the desired effect.

Whatever problems there may have been with the summons evidently didn't affect your case, since you didn't say you were penalized for failure to appear. Your question also doesn't suggest any police misconduct. Since you agree you were guilty as charged I don't see a problem with your conviction.

I also don't think the sentence you describe is particularly harsh. 30 hours of community service isn't "whopping" in my book. What punishment do you think would have been appropriate? Keep in mind that decisions about what penalty fits what crime are for the legislature and the judge to make, not the defendant.

Unless you have already waited too long you can appeal the decision, but trial courts generally have discretion about sentencing matters and appellate courts seldom second-guess their decisions. Unless the law forbids the sentence you received (I'm not licensed in your state and don't know such details) your appeal would most likely fail.

My sense is that even if the law would have permitted a less severe sentence, such leniency would not have deterred you from breaking the law again or taught you the appropriate respect for our legal system. Leniency is for defendants who don't need to be taught a lesson, but it sounds like you do. If you addressed the court in anything like the manner you wrote your message, the judge probably saw things the way I do.

Re: College student taken advantage of

Once you pled guilty you admitted the allegations and gave up the right to challenge any of the charges against you. You're lucky you didn't get a harsher fine or a more serious conviction.

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