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NYC Desk Appearance Ticket Attorneys
212-344-5180
What you need to know about your Desk Appearance Ticket
If you received a Desk Appearance Ticket like this one, then you've been arrested and you are facing serious criminal charges that could give you a permanent criminal record, jeopardize your career, and/or have negative immigration consequences for you. So, you need to take it seriously and hire an excellent attorney.
The issuance of a Desk Appearance Ticket is similar to a traditional arrest in almost every respect. If you received a Desk Appearance Ticket, then you were fingerprinted just as you would have been in a regular arrest. The procedure in court is the same, and the consequences from a Desk Appearance Ticket are potentially just as serious (no matter what the arresting police officers may have told you). The only real difference between your Desk Appearance Ticket and a traditional arrest is that the arresting officer exercised his discretion in deciding not to force you to spend a night (or twenty-four hours) in prison before your first court date.
Near the top of the page, the Desk Appearance Ticket tells you where to go and when. Each borough in New York has a criminal court building for Desk Appearance Tickets (Manhattan actually has two of them), and you will have to go to the courtroom in the borough in which you were arrested.
You need to appear on that date or a warrant will be issued for your arrest. In some rare circumstances it may be possible to change your court date or send an attorney in your place.
Near the top of the page it lists the "Top Offense Charged." It probably says PL ____. The "PL" stands for Penal Law, or the section of the New York criminal law code. Below is a list of some of the typical Desk Appearance Ticket charges. Click on them to learn more:.
Shoplifting/Petit Larceny (PL 155.25 or PL 165.40)
Theft of Services (Subway & Taxi) (PL 165.15)
Knives and Weapons (PL 265.01)
Aggravated Harassment (PL 240.30)
Public Lewdness/Public Exposure (PL 245.00 or PL 245.01)
Sexual Abuse/Forcible Touching (PL 130.53 or PL 130.55)
Unlicensed Driving/Suspended License (VTL 509 or VTL 511)
Forgery (Fake IDs) (PL 170.20)
Solicitation of a Prostitute (PL 230.04)
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