Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

Re: unlicenced operator leaving the scene

The police have to bring someone arrested before a judge for arraignment within a reasonable period of time. New York's highest Court has held that holding someone more than 24 hours without a valid excuse is unreasonable. I currently represent several clients who were arrested on minor charges but held for periods in excess of 24 hours. We are pursuing a civil case for money damages. If this happended to you, please feel free to contact me.

Re: unlicenced operator leaving the scene

If a person is held for arraignment, the People have 24 hours to get him before a magistrate to have bail set. If he is given an appearance ticket (or DAT as they are sometimes called) then a reasonable time is the standard and that (depending on the court) can be months.

Remember however that the statute of limitations continues to tick and on a violation that period is relatively short.

Good luck.