MR. CORLETTA OBTAINS FAVORABLE DISPOSITION FOR DIFFICULT CLIENT RESIDING IN FOREIGN COUNTRY

Mr. Corletta obtained a favorable negotiated Plea Agreement by using his knowledge of the law regarding foreign drivers licenses and his knowledge of the difficulty of resolving suspensions in DMV Traffic Adjudications Bureaus in People v. M.P. (Ogden Tn. Ct., 7/28/20).

                In that case, Mr. Corletta’s client, admittedly difficult, owed approximately $2300 in fines to the Suffolk County Traffic Adjudications Bureau and their New York driving privleges were suspended. The client has commuted back and forth from a foreign country and was here during December and January 2020 for work and the holidays, as the client also had family in the area.

                During that time, the client drove and was charged with Driving with a Suspended License. The client believed the foreign driver’s license covered travel here. It did not.

                Mr. Corletta contacted Suffolk County to determine what the client had to do to clear the fine situation and obtain detailed instructions for the client.

                For various reasons, the client either could not or would not follow Mr. Corletta’s instructions, subsequently returned to the foreign country, and further stated they were not coming back. Facing a difficult situation, and a possible Bench Warrant for a person living in a foreign country, and believing this would make it difficult for the client to reenter the country for work purposes, Mr. Corletta approached the District Attorney and explained the underlying circumstances, status, that the suspension was entirely debt-related, and that the client was no longer in the United States.

                The District Attorney agreed under these circumstances to accept a plea to a minor, 0-point traffic violation in full satisfaction of all charges. Mr. Corletta further requested that the plea be entered by Affidavit so it could be sent to the client by email and returned. The District Attorney agreed and the Court approved the party’s agreement, thereby saving this difficult client a substantial amount of trouble over a relatively minor matter, should they ever wish to reenter the country.

                This was a unique traffic case involving knowledge of not only the law regarding traffic infractions, but also foreign drivers licenses, operation of Traffic Violations Bureaus in the New York City area during COVID-19, and how a Bench Warrant might affect the client’s future entry into the United States. All in all, quite a favorable disposition under the circumstances.