When to File a Motion in Traffic Court

My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: New York, Suffolk County, TPVA

I received a ticket for failure to stop at a stop sign on 1/17/14. I mailed the ticket back not-guilty and checked "Yes" to request a supporting deposition. I never received a supporting deposition. I received a notice to appear for pre-trial conference to speak with the prosecutor on 2/19/14. At this meeting, I mentioned that I had requested the deposition but had not received it and asked when I would receive it. The prosecutor stated I would "probably never" receive it and that he would not give me legal advice on how to receive the deposition. I declined their plea-bargain offer and have a trial date set in May.

I would like to file a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that the supporting deposition was not provided to me within 30 days as required by law. I have done research and found past cases such as People v Tyler ( http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/ny/cases/app/44p.pdf ) which show that a motion to dismiss can be filed on these grounds.

My question is more about procedure; should I file this motion before my trial, or should I bring the motion up at the trial date? If I am filing the motion, do I need to follow a proper format, or can it be a general letter? I know some states have laws which allow the courts to ignore form and focus on content for those who are unschooled in law filing the forms.

Any advice would be appreciated.

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Quoting tpva

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I received a ticket for failure to stop at a stop sign on 1/17/14. I mailed the ticket back not-guilty and checked "Yes" to request a supporting deposition.

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You don't say when it was that you mailed your ticket back? Or how you mailed it... (?first class?/?certified?/?return receipt?) So how do you know when it was received by the court?

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Quoting tpva

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My question is more about procedure; should I file this motion before my trial, or should I bring the motion up at the trial date? If I am filing the motion, do I need to follow a proper format, or can it be a general letter? I know some states have laws which allow the courts to ignore form and focus on content for those who are unschooled in law filing the forms.

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Regarding form and content, that is likely to depend on local policy and in all honesty, unless someone lurking in the background can tell you, I am not aware of anyone on this forum being particularly familiar with procedures in Suffolk County. Your better bet would be to ask the court clerk which is where you would be filing one copy of the motion, the other going to the prosecutor.

If I were to guess, I would say to be ion the safe side and since you do have to serve the prosecuting attorney, and he may choose to file a respond and since his response will be formal, your motion should meet the standards as well.

As for the time to file it, I would do so ASAP... If you can get a hearing date soon, go in, argue your motion and get the case dismissed,why would you want to wait until May?

The question is, and this too would follow local procedure... Do you file the motion and set the date yourself (some courts where I am do that), do you file the motion and wait for the clerk to set a date, or do you file it and wait until notified or until the trial date comes which ever happens first... You should ask the clerk as well.

Good luck!