Does the Court need an Original Waiver Form to Allow my Attorney to Appear in Court on my Behalf?
Written By: Benjamin Goldman, Esq.
New York State Law allows motorists to waive their personal appearance in court for a traffic ticket. The law allows an attorney to adjudicate and resolve the case while you stay home. In order to avoid appearing in court, a defendant must sign an “Authorization” or “Waiver” in which they acknowledge that they are waiving certain rights by not appearing in court and authorizing their attorney to handle the entire case.
There is no uniform Authorization, and the form varies from attorney to attorney. Some judges required that the form be signed before a Notary Public. This policy is not required by law but it is merely within the discretion of the judge. Some judges require that the authorization have an original signature and will not accept a copy. As far as we are aware, the only court that still has this policy is the Fallsburg Town Court.
There does not appear to be a basis in law requiring an original signature. CPL § 380.40 makes no mention of an original waiver, nor is “original” mentioned in CPL § 380.40, CPL § 340.20, CPL § 340.50(2), VTL § 1805, or in any other statute in connection with traffic tickets, as far as we are aware. CPLR § 210l(e) states: “Copies. Except where otherwise specifically prescribed, copies may be served or filed. CPL§ 60.10 states: “Unless otherwise provided by statute the rules of evidence applicable to civil cases are also applicable to criminal proceedings.” Taken in tandem, these statutes indicate that the rules for copies in the CPLR apply to the CPL Therefore no original paperwork would be needed to adjudicate a traffic infraction. We also point to the facts on the ground. All filings in Federal court are done electronically. New York State courts in general have moved towards exclusive e-filing. It is incongruous when a court requires an original waiver to get a traffic ticket reduced to a parking ticket, but courts with far more serious matters will not even accept an original document if proffered.