The Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB) is an

administrative court An administrative court is a type of specialized court on administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are usually co ...

of the

New York State Department of Motor Vehicles The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NYSDMV or DMV) is the department of the New York state government responsible for vehicle registration, vehicle inspections, driver's licenses, learner's permits, photo ID cards, and adjudicat ...

that adjudicates non-criminal traffic violations (other than parking violations) in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Vehicle and Traffic Law article 2-A, § 225 ''et seq.'', as added by chapter 1074 of the laws of 1969. 15 NYCRR § 121.3; "A Traffic Violations Bureau is established in the Department of Motor Vehicles. This bureau shall be made up of those administrative law judges, supervisors and clerical personnel assigned by the commissioner to carry out the provisions of article 2-A of the Vehicle and Traffic Law and this Subchapter."

Proceedings

The TVB conducts its proceedings according to th
Administrative Adjudication of Traffic Violations
regulations in the

New York Codes, Rules and Regulations The ''New York Codes, Rules and Regulations'' (NYCRR) contains New York state rules and regulations. The NYCRR is officially compiled by the New York State Department of State's Division of Administrative Rules. Contents See also * '' New Yor ...

. The National Motorists Association assists motorists and offers attorney referrals to motorists appearing before the TVB. The DMV TVB is an

that is not part of the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

, but an

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

agency with different procedures regarding elements ranging from rules of evidence to threshold for conviction. The function of the

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

is carried out by an

administrative law judge An administrative law judge (ALJ) in the United States is a judge and trier of fact who both presides over trials and adjudicates claims or disputes involving administrative law, thus involving administrative units of the executive branch of go ...

, or ALJ. The sole options are to plead guilty or not guilty:

plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...

s are not conducted, nor can the judge reduce a charge, only rule guilty or not guilty on the stated charge. After a guilty finding, the DMV ALJ may impose any penalty authorized by the Vehicle and Traffic Law, including suspension or revocation of a driver's license and/or motor vehicle registration, but not including imprisonment. There is no absolute right to a supporting deposition, and rules on admissibility of hearsay evidence are far more lax than in court. Typically, the hearing consists simply of each side presenting its story, the allowance of hearsay negating the necessity of formalities such as sworn witnesses and the like. Administrative appeals are made to the DMV Motor Vehicle Appeals Board. There is a fee of $10 for the appeal and $50 for the transcript that must be ordered.

Judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

of the appeal is made under article 78 of the

Civil Practice Law and Rules The New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) is chapter 8 of the ''Consolidated Laws of New York'' and governs legal procedure in the Unified Court System such as jurisdiction, venue, and pleadings, as well certain areas of substantive la ...

, which is equivalent to a writ or order of

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the recor ...

mandamus A writ of (; ) is a judicial remedy in the English and American common law system consisting of a court order that commands a government official or entity to perform an act it is legally required to perform as part of its official duties, o ...

and/or

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

Criticisms

Because the rules of

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

, specifically the right of

discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

and the admissibility of hearsay, are more lax than in normal court, the TVB system has often been characterized as a difficult or biased one. The absence of an option to plead to reduced charges, traditionally a staple of traffic court, has been especially criticized. The threshold of conviction is "

clear and convincing evidence In a legal dispute, one party has the burden of proof to show that they are correct, while the other party has no such burden and is presumed to be correct. The burden of proof requires a party to produce evidence to establish the truth of facts ...

", in contrast to the general definition of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. This is a lower standard, making conviction easier. Conversely, the argument has been made that the more streamlined process, coupled with the judge being an expert on traffic law, makes for a fairer trial. The concept of administration adjudication was upheld by New York State's highest court, the

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

, in ''Rosenthal v. Hartnett'', (1975). The

has in the past noted that a 65% conviction rate is required to maintain the financial viability of the Traffic Violations Bureau System (Source: New York State Bar Association Committee on Administrative Adjudication).

History

The TVB is authorized by Vehicle and Traffic Law article 2-A, which was created by chapter 1074 of the laws of 1969 (enacted May 26, 1969, effective July 1, 1970) under Governor Rockefeller. The rationale behind the establishment of this office was to offload the large volume of such cases from the

New York City Criminal Court The Criminal Court of the City of New York is a court of the Judiciary of New York (state), State Unified Court System in New York City that handles misdemeanors (generally, criminal law, crimes punishable by fine or imprisonment of up to one ye ...

, and also authorized local parking violations bureaus. Effective April 1, 2013, the Suffolk County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency began adjudicating parking summonses, red light camera citations and moving violations in the five western towns of Suffolk County. Effective July 1, 2015, the Buffalo TVB closed. Effective April 21, 2018 the Rochester TVB closed.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Administrative Adjudication of Traffic Violations
in the

DMV brochure on the Traffic Violations Bureau
New York state courts New York state Traffic Violations Bureau Traffic law Courts and tribunals established in 1969 1969 establishments in the United States