The Staten Island Traffic Violation Bureau is widely known to be the worst TVB court in the system. There are essentially only two judges there and one, by the name of ALJ Brian Levine, decides most of the hearings. Due in large part to Levine, this court annually has the highest conviction rates and imposes the most license suspensions compared to the other Traffic Violations Bureau office. However, the depth of the despair is shown by a recent news story.
Levine recently found one motorist (possibly more) guilty of disobeying a traffic sign despite the fact that he knew or should have known that the sign was unofficial. The “fake” sign was smaller than valid signs and did not have the official DOT markings. It was located at the intersection of Arden and Woodrow and “prohibited” drivers from making a left-hand turn. Multiple drivers who disobeyed this sign were issued a 2-point ticket for allegedly violating VTL 1110a and no one knows how many of them have been improperly convicted.
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Many years ago I was given a ticket for backing up at the VZ Toll Plaza. I had to because the toll collector at the last minute changed the green to a red light. I did this very carefully. I was given a reckless driving ticket. The officer did not show up four times in a row and he refused to let me go. His answer to me was that it his job to keep bad drivers off the road. I didn’t even have points on my license. I said if I didn’t show up I would have my license revoked. Fast forward, on the fifth court date the officer showed up and he said he did not have his paperwork. Finally dismissed.
Judge Levine is a world class bully. That’s all I can say.
John McHugh,
Wow! So glad that justice prevailed for you.
Congrats!
Matthew Weiss
Why is this guy still around? My husband went before him today and the guy (can’t really call him a judge) didn’t give my husband a chance to give his side of the story and went only with what the blatantly lying officer had to say.
Questions:
What are the rates of successful appeal against this guy’s rulings?
Because of my husband’s ticket, I cannot get an umbrella policy which I feel is necessary to have in place because my mother is ill and receiving care from multiple strangers in our home. If, in the slim chance that an incident occurs and we are sued with no umbrella policy in place during the ticket appeal process, can I sue this guy’s ass off because he didn’t do his job properly and violated my husband’s rights?
Upset Spouse,
I do not have the rates of success for appeal against this judge but winning an appeal is near-impossible.
Matthew Weiss
Judges are appointed sometimes fortunately or ( in your story unfortunately) for unlimited terms for them to hopefully be impartial. I’ve had unfortunately two sign summons and appeared with evidence based on error on the face of the ticket based on the fact that the date of occurrence 8/9/2016 and date of attestation 8 /8/2106 by the officer were dated incorrectly. Yes I had gone to a different bourough the next day and got receipts showing I couldn’t be in different places at the time of the ticket……b..uutttt I and my attorney as well as the policeman were white and the judge was of a different ethnicity and stated she’d look at the computer screen rather than the original ticket ( with the officer present no less!) and held me guilty! My atty asked the p.o.later to verify after the hearing and he said it was a bad ticket! My suggestion for Staten Island is request a change of venue based on predjudial behavior or abusive behavior to the governor for removal or censure.
Alex Glatt,
I’m sorry to hear about your experience. Unfortunately, you generally cannot change venues at any of the Traffic Violations Bureau locations.
Matthew Weiss
Matthew Weiss must have been one of those motorists found guilty by Judge Levine … This sounds more like Weiss has an “axe to grind” rather than actual reporting.
Hey Scott,
Thanks for submitting your speculative comment. In fact, I have never had a ticket issued to me in Staten Island, let alone been found guilty by Judge Levine. I am not sure how you can conclude that Judge Levine’s decision to disregard an official DOT letter was reasonable but you’re entitled to your opinion.
Matthew Weiss