New York Criminal Attorney Blog

If you have been charged in New York or in Federal Court with any type of gun possession, firearm offense or other offense involving weapons or dangerous instruments, you must have qualified and experienced legal representation. The stakes are high. In New York, simply possessing a loaded, operable, unlicensed firearm outside your home or business carries a mandatory minimum 3 ½ year sentence if convicted. That means if you are convicted, you will do a minimum of 3 ½ years “upstate” prison time.
Tilem & Campbell can provide you the skilled legal representation you need should you be charged with a firearms offense. Not many attorneys can match Senior Partner Peter Tilem’s experience, expertise and inside knowledge of firearm and gun offense prosecutions. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Tilem spent ten years as an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. For several of those years, Mr. Tilem was with the Firearms Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office which was a multi-agency operation combining New York State, New York City and Federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and the ATF in multi-jurisdictional illegal gun trafficking investigations and prosecutions. As part of his prosecutorial duties with the firearms trafficking unit, Mr. Tilem traveled the east coast investigating and building cases against those involved with illegal firearms distribution.
Certainly there are other highly qualified defense attorneys. However, if you are charged with a gun, firearm or other weapons offense, ask your attorney or potential attorney if they have ever worked as an Assistant District Attorney investigating and prosecuting multi-jurisdictional and multi-agency gun and firearm trafficking cases firsthand. Their answer will most likely be no. Ask Peter Tilem of Tilem & Campbell if he has first hand experience in investigating and prosecuting these cases and the answer will be absolutely yes.
The results speak for themselves. Few attorneys have enjoyed the level of success that Tilem & Campbell has enjoyed in winning difficult New York and federal gun cases.
If you have been charged with any type of firearm offense in New York visit www.HandGunAttorney.com or www.888AnyCrime.com for more information about our firm or call toll-free 1-888-ANY-CRIME.

The City of White Plains Police Department is relentless when it comes to issuing speeding tickets. This is especially so in school zones. At Tilem & Campbell we are routinely retained by motorists who received a school zone speeding ticket in White Plains. Many of these White Plains speeding tickets are issued in the Stepinac High School zone along Mamaroneck Avenue where the speed limit drops from 40 mph to 25 mph. Although there is no parking across the street from the high school, there are no drop off points across the street from the high school, the high-school is set back several hundred feet from the main road and all student parking and pick-up locations are several hundred feet from the main road, the speed limit drops dramatically at that location and others along Mamaroneck Ave. and elsewhere.

School zone speeding tickets are covered in NY VTL § 1180(c) which states in general terms that whenever a maximum school zone speed limit has been established, no motorist shall exceed said speed limit during school days indicated on a school zone speed limit sign provided that such reduced speed can only be in effect from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. or any time interval in between (See VTL § 1180(c)(1)).

Instead of a school zone speed limit sign, a reduced school zone speed limit may be indicated by flashing lights indicating that a reduced school zone speed limit is in effect during school activities. Such flashing lights may only flash and therefore, may only reduce the school zone speed limit for a period starting 30 minutes before and up to 30 minutes after school activities (See VTL § 1180(c)(2)).

These School Zone tickets are often prosecuted more aggressively than other types of speeding cases in the White Plains City Court and in other Courts such as Mamaroneck and Harrison.

If you have been issued a White Plains Speeding Ticket for exceeding a school zone speed limit or any other traffic violation including work zone speeding, red light, no left turn, etc, call Tilem & Campbell toll free at 1-877-DR-SUMMONS (1-877-377-8666) for a free consultation or visit www.DrSummons.com.

In New York, it is illegal for one to operate a motor vehicle while that person’s ability to operate the motor vehicle is impaired by the use of a drug as defined in VTL § 114-a (See VTL § 1194(4) for the exact wording of the statute).

Vehicle and Traffic Law section 114-a defines a drug for purposes of VTL § 1194(4) as any substance listed in New York Public Health Law § 3306. In New York, if you are impaired or intoxicated by alcohol you could be charged with VTL § 1192(1); VTL § 1192(2); and/or VTL § 1192(3) (in other words DWI and/or DWAI); all three of which concern impairment or intoxication by alcohol.

However, in order to be charged with Driving by Ability Impaired By Drugs, you must have ingested a drug specifically mentioned in Public Health Law § 3306 and that drug must have impaired you ability to drive (this is discussed in a future blog). With new and more powerful drugs routinely hitting the “club scene”, it seems somewhat foolish to prohibit one from driving if they are under the influence of a drug listed in Public Health Law § 3306 while allowing them to drive with impunity if they ingest a drug not listed in Public Health Law § 3306. Recall, drugs such as GHB and Ecstasy were legal for years before they were banned. Simply stated, those driving under the influence of drugs not listed in Public Health Law § 3306 do not run afoul of VTL § 1192(4).

The list of drugs found in Public Health Law § 3306 is extremely long to the point that one might not even know if what they are taking, legally or otherwise, is listed in 3306. As I have repeatedly stated, never, never, never talk with law enforcement. For an exact list of the drugs that might subject you to driving while ability impaired by drugs see Public Health Law § 3306. And as always, if you have been charged with any alcohol a drug related driving offense in New York, call Tilem & Campbell for a free, confidential consultation.

The City of White Plains hosts one of the busiest traffic courts in Westchester County and probably the most common traffic infraction cited in White Plains is speeding. That’s understandable with Interstate 287, the Hutchinson River Parkway and the Bronx River Parkway running through it. As a result, in addition to the White Plains Police Department, speeding tickets returnable in the White Plains City Court are issued by the Westchester County Police and the New York State Police.

A common hot spot for White Plains speeding tickets, especially work zone speeding tickets is Interstate 287. For the past several years construction work has been taking place on I-287 in White Plains. This construction results in “work zones” or “work areas” along I-287 wherein the speed limit is 45 mph.

Not only are work zone speed limits generally 10 to 20 mph less than the normal speed limits, the minimum fine for speeding in a work zone is double that of a non work zone speeding ticket. You may not drive through a work or road maintenance area faster than the posted speed limit (VTL §1180(f)). However, as I stated above, the speed limit in these areas is generally 10 mph to 20 mph less than usual and can tend to sneak up on drivers. A work zone speed limit may not be more than 20 mph below the normally posted speed limit for that area nor may a work zone speed limit be less than 25 mph. (VTL § 1180(f)).

In 1995, the New York State Legislature determined that work zones are one of the most dangerous work environments and that drivers who exceed the posted work area speed limits must be severely punished (Legislative Findings of L.1995, c. 446). Accordingly, the Legislature passed a law doubling the minimum fines for speeding in a work area. In other words, if you are convicted of exceeding a work area speed limit by 1 to 10 mph, the minimum fine would be $90.00 instead of $45.00; if you are convicted of exceeding a work zone speed limit by 11 to 30 mph, the minimum fine would be $180.00 instead of $90.00; and if you are convicted of exceeding a work area speed limit by 31 mph or more, the minimum fine is $360.00 instead of $180.00. Remember that all traffic violations in the City Court of White Plains get assessed a new $80 mandatory surcharge in addition to the fine.

In a future blog I will discuss the definition of a work zone as well as other issues relevant to work zone speeding tickets. If you have received a White Plains speeding ticket for speeding in a work zone, or if you have received a ticket for any other traffic offense such as speeding, red light, passing a school bus, stop sign or an equipment violation, or a summons for any traffic misdemeanor such as reckless driving, DWI or Aggravated Unlicensed operation, contact Tilem & Campbell PC at 1-877-DR-SUMMONS (1-877-377-8666) for a free telephone consultation.

For the most part, yes, in New York, bicyclists are subject to the same rules of the road as motor vehicles. In fact, in New York City it is not uncommon for bicyclists to be “pulled-over” and issued tickets for violations committed while traveling on their bicycles. There are, of course exceptions which will be discussed below. Generally, a bicycle is defined under New York law as a two or three wheeled device propelled by human power. The definition however, does not include devices with solid tires intended to be used by pre-teenage kids on the sidewalk. (See VTL § 102 for the exact definition).

Generally, bicyclists must obey the same rules of the road as operators of other vehicles. See VTL § 1231 which provides in pertinent part that anyone riding a bicycle or in-line skates are subject to all the rights and duties applicable to drivers of more common vehicles except for certain regulations and provisions which by their very nature have no applicability. VTL § 1231

For example, a bicyclist must stop at a stop sign. Trzepacz v. Jara, 1 A.D.3d 531, 782 N.Y.S.2d 852 (2nd Dept. 2004). And a bicyclist operating on a roadway, with few exceptions, bears virtually all of the same responsibilities a driver of a motor vehicle does. Redcross v. State, 241 A.D.2d 787, 660 N.Y.S.2d 211(3rd Dept. 1997). Just as a bicyclist must obey the same rules as the operator of a more conventional vehicle, the bicyclist is also entitled to the same rights or “right of way” as the more conventional vehicle. Therefore, a motorist must yield the right of way to a bicyclist who is already lawfully in the intersection. People v. Marr, 187 Misc.2d 280, 721 N.Y.S.2d 737 (2001 Jus. Ct. Vil of Horseheads)(Motorist found guilty for failing to yield right of way to bicyclist, who motorist subsequently hit, at an intersection where bicyclist had the right of way.)

However, one law that bicyclists are exempt from is VTL § 1163(b) which requires that an intention to turn left or right be given continuously for a least one hundred feet prior to the turn. This does not mean that a bicyclist is totally exempt from signaling their intention to turn. However, due to the obvious safety concerns associated with a bicyclist operating his or her bike for 100 feet with only one hand on the handlebars as he or she uses the other hand to indicate their intention to turn, bicyclists are exempt from the 100 foot requirement found in VTL § 1163(b). However, while exempt from the 100 foot requirement, bicyclists must indicate their intention to turn by some hand signal although it need not be for the full 100 feet as required by VTL § 1163(b) see e.g. Blitstein v. Capital District Transportation Authority, 81 A.D.2d 981, 439 N.Y.S.2d 768 (3rd Dept. 1981) see also Secor v. Kohl, 67 A.D.2d 358, 415 N.Y.S.2d 434 (2nd Dept. 1979)(Requirement of Vehicle and Traffic Law that turn signals be given continuously for at least 100 feet before turning is gauged to speeds of automobiles and cannot be reasonably applied to much lower speeds of bicycles.).

If you have been issued a ticket or summons anywhere in New York State for an alleged violation committed while riding your bike, you should contact an experienced New York traffic court law-firm to defend you. You should also always carry identification with you when you are out riding because there are far too many police officers who will arrest you and put you through the criminal justice system for 24 hours locked up with the worst of the worst until you get to see a judge. For more information contact Tilem & Campbell PC at 1-877-DR-SUMMONS (1-877-377-8666).