Common Desk Appearance Tickets from JFK Airport include 1) shoplifting offenses (Petit Larceny – PL 155.25, a Class A misdemeanor) at the JFK retail shops or duty-free stores, 2) misdemeanor possession of controlled substances (PL 220.03), 3) misdemeanor possession of a weapon, such as a knife or collapsable baton or brass knuckles (PL 265.01), 4) theft of services, such as failing to pay a bar or restaurant tab (PL 165.15), and 5) assault (PL 120.00, a Class A misdemeanor). However, there are many other possible offenses at JFK Airport that could result in Desk Appearance Tickets.

A Desk Appearance Ticket is the same thing as a criminal arrest and a conviction for a misdemeanor can give you a permanent and public criminal record. It can also potentially result in jail time, probation, fines, loss of employment, loss of immigration status, and loss of licensure, depending on the circumstances. These DATs must be taken seriously, as should any criminal arrest. Matthew Galluzzo has successfully helped over 100 clients earn dismissals in cases involving Desk Appearance Tickets, and has specifically helped over a dozen clients with charges stemming from JFK Airport.

Generally, a person who receives a Desk Appearance Ticket from JFK Airport must appear in Queens Criminal Court (located at 125-01 Queens Boulevard) as instructed by the ticket. Sometimes these court dates occur on weekends. Of course, many of the people arrested in JFK are travelers from out of town or even out of the country. In certain types of cases, Matthew Galluzzo has successfully appeared of behalf of many out-of-town and foreign clients and resolved these cases favorably without the clients having to appear personally. If you are a foreign or out-of-town client with a JFK Desk Appearance Ticket, you should strongly consider hiring Matthew Galluzzo to appear on your behalf, so that you do not have to make a special trip back to New York City just to appear in court to resolve a misdemeanor offense.

Specifically, New York prohibits the possession of any gravity knife, switchblade, stilletto, certain clubs, darts, slingshots, brass knuckles, and even such exotic things as chuka sticks and throwing stars. Thus, even though many of these things are widely available — even in stores selling them in New York City itself — police will take the opportunity to arrest you and charge you with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree pursuant to Penal Law section 265.01.

More often than not, this situation will occur when a person is attempting to board a flight at the aiport and is subject to security screening by TSA. In those situations, TSA will alert local police and you would find yourself at the local precinct and on the way to Queens County Criminal Court at 125-01 Queens Boulvard, Queens, NY 11415.

If this happens to your or a loved one, you should call experienced and qualified counsel to attempt to end your case at arraignments (which is the first appearance before a local judge). These cases must be handled appropriately from the outset. A good attorney should be able to — at a minimum — convince the judge to release you from jail. Moreover, these cases can oftentimes be disposed of at arraignments with either a dismissal or a plea to a lesser included offense, without you ever having to return to New York.