Pink Summons Cases in New York City
The New York City Police Department issues hundreds of thousands of small pink summonses each year. A wide range of offenses can be charged by way of these pink summonses. Most common among them perhaps are drinking in public, public urination, unlawful possession of marijuana, and trespass in a park after dark.
This website is a resource of information for those who have received Pink Summonses in New York City but who are finding information about pink summonses difficult to come by.
New Pink Summons Procedures in 2020
The New York criminal justice system is undergoing major reforms beginning in 2020. Some of those reforms are affecting the way pink summons matters are handled, and where. In Queens, for example, pink summonses are now being heard in the regular arraignment courtrooms instead of a special courtroom all their own. Other changes may be coming to pink summons procedures in the rest of New York City. The number of pink summonses written for criminal court has vastly diminished to the point of extinction in New York City, but if you manage to get a pink summons for criminal court, be prepared for some confusion about where to go and what to do in the early days and weeks of 2020.
Comfort and Convenience of a Lawyer
Hiring me as your lawyer for a pink summons provides an extra level of comfort and convenience. You probably won't need to appear yourself and you can rely on the advice and representation of an experienced criminal defense lawyer. Since pink summonses are relatively simple matters for an experienced criminal defense lawyer, the fee to appear and negotiate a settlement in an individual (no fire code) case is a flat fee of $500 (trial fee would need to be negotiated individually). Read more about how I can quickly, conveniently, and reliably help you get the best result possible for your pink summons.
NYC Trucking Summonses
New York City aggressively tickets truckers and routinely sends these tickets to be heard in the Criminal Summons Courtrooms. More often than not these trucking summonses are written in the name of the Corporation that owns the truck and not in the name of the driver. This makes it the Corporation's problem.
I have more than 25 years experience in nearly every aspect of Criminal Courts in New York City, including the procedures in Criminal Trucking Summons matters. My experience with Criminal Court and only Criminal Court makes me able to address these trucking summons matters with high efficiency and fixed, reasonable costs. And as a corporate officer responsible to the Corporation you can be confident that by sending a Criminal lawyer to Criminal Court, you have protected your corporation's interests.
Read more about Trucking Summons Matters in New York City Criminal Courts.
NYC Fire Code Violations
The New York City Fire Department aggressively monitors businesses for compliance with the fire code and will serve simple seeming pink summonses for fire code violations. Do not be fooled. These fire code summonses are heard in New York City Criminal Court, and corporations risk criminal convictions and breathtaking fines measured in the thousands of dollars. If your corporation is hit with fire code summonses sending it to Criminal Court, you need a Criminal Lawyer. Contact me right away. Bring a criminal lawyer to criminal court.
Common Summons Offenses
This section of the site lists many of the most typical charges found in pink summonses, as well as discuss of their seriousness. You will be able to see the exact language of the offenses so that you know precisely what the charge means and understand more precisely what the accusation is. The number of possible accusations is enormous, but most pink summonses will probably charge one of these offenses.
Is it Serious?
Some summons cases, for example, actually charge crimes, that could give the recipient a criminal record forever. Non citizens also need to be careful when accused of any offense, making legal representation prudent. People who hold professional licenses or are otherwise subject to periodic background checks may also discover that a summons is worth taking seriously. Finally, for those who are unable to appear on the date required, it is possible, under some circumstances to arrange for a lawyer to appear on the pink summons in your place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Little information is easily available for those with questions about pink summonses. Therefore, people are often left to rely for answers to questions from the police officer who gave them the ticket or from others who may have had summonses in the past. These are unreliable sources of information. As well meaning as the police officers may be, it has been our experience that they routinely provide misinformation to those they are giving summonses. For example, the police will often tell out of towners who are leaving well before the appearance date that they should "go to court the next day to advance the case". This is nonsense. It is impossible. It won't work. For reliable information regarding such common issues, review our list of frequently asked questions and reliable answers.
Typical New York City Pink Summons. Items have been blacked out to protect client privacy. The summons number will usually begin with "4" and is located usually at the left hand side where the bar code is located. The date of appearance and court is noted at the bottom.
Evening Pink Summons Court is Going Away in February, 2019
Evening Court, one of the recently enacted measures trying to make the summons system in New York City more user friendly is going to be eliminated in early 2019. Once a week, Tuesday evening, pink summons court at 1 Centre Street was available for people with open summons matters from any borough to advance and resolve pink summonses. The administration was convinced that the reason that many people failed to appear on pink summons cases was simply that they had to work and could not get off to come to summons court. Therefore, the court administration determined to open up Tuesday evening court to accommodate people who needed to work. The problem is that just about nobody showed up for the evening sessions.
Information Provided by The Law Offices of James Shalley
The content in this site is developed and sponsored by The Law Offices of James Shalley, a new york city criminal defense firm. The Law Offices of James Shalley is a private criminal defense law firm that can help with your pink summons case.
I am not the court. I provide this site for free for people who need information about pink summonses. If you would like to contact us about helping you with a pink summons, call or text me directly at 347-612-9830.
Related New York Criminal Court Links
The following are links to related sites or web pages with more information about pink summons cases or information about other aspects of the New York Criminal Justice System, including a link to webcrims, a way to check online where and when your case (including pink summons matter) is pending: