Legal Question in Traffic Law in New York

A prosecution for a petty offense must be commenced within 1 year of commission. However, there is time excluded from the calculation of the statute of limitations, such as if you didn't show up in court and your whereabouts were unascertainable by the exercise of reasonable diligence, and/or were outside New York Sttate. A matter is "commenced" by the filing of an accusatory instrument.

All of this is to say that it isn't easy to determine if the statute of limitations is applicable. Just failing to show up for a year does not mean that the statute of limitations has run.

I recommend you speak to a local attorney who practices traffic law.

Richard F. Sweeney, Esq.

Note, the answering of this question does not create an attorney-client relationship.