Opinion ID: 221342
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Transit Adjudication Bureau

Text: From 1966, when the Rules were first enacted, until 1986, when the TAB first began operating, the New York Criminal Court (Criminal Court) had exclusive jurisdiction over citations for Rules violations. NYCLU, 675 F.Supp.2d at 415. A 1984 statute created the TAB to lessen the burden on the Criminal Court and to increase the rate at which fines were collected from Rules violators. See N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 1209-a. The statute also increased the fine that could be imposed: while the Criminal Court is limited to a fine of no more than $25 for a violation of an NYCTA Rule, the TAB may fine a violator up to $100, with an additional penalty of up to $50 for failing to respond to a notice of violation. N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 1204(5-a); see also NYCLU, 675 F.Supp.2d at 414. (The Criminal Court may also sentence a violator to a maximum of 10 days' imprisonment, NYCLU, 675 F.Supp.2d at 414, but the record suggests that this penalty is rarely, if ever, imposed.) The police officer citing the violation has discretion to choose whether to issue a citation to Criminal Court or a notice of violation to the TAB. As the district court observed, no violation appears to be, by definition, only returnable to one of the venues. NYCLU, 675 F.Supp.2d at 415; see N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 1209-a(3) (giving the TAB non-exclusive jurisdiction over violations of the Rules). A person who receives a TAB notice of violation may pay the fine without contesting it, contest it by mail, or contest it at an in-person hearing. In 2008, officers issued 125,155 notices of violation returnable to the TAB. That same year, 88,236 notices of violation were paid without contest, and 19,028 were contested at in-person TAB hearings. Attorneys appointed by the NYCTA President and paid on a per-diem basis preside over TAB hearings as TAB hearing officers. N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 1209-a(2). The TAB can issue subpoenas, accept pleas[,] ... hear and determine ... charges of transit infractions[,] ... impose civil penalties[,] ... [and] enter judgments and enforce them, without court proceedings, in the same manner as the enforcement of money judgments in civil actions. N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 1209-a(4)(a)-(e), (g). A final order issued by the TAB serves as a bar to ... criminal prosecution for the same conduct. Id. 1209-a(9)(b). TAB guidelines provide that respondents may be represented by counsel. NYCLU, 675 F.Supp.2d at 417; see Guidelines Governing Proceedings Before the Transit Adjudication Bureau § 1.7 ( TAB Guidelines ). [3] Respondents may show up at the TAB office any time during the period stated on their notices of violation and receive a hearing on a first-come, first-served basis. [4] But if a hearing is scheduled by the TAB (as is sometimes done to facilitate the production of witnesses or evidence), the respondent must be told its date and location. NYCLU, 675 F.Supp.2d at 417. Hearing officers identify the parties and issues in the case; advise respondents of their rights to a hearing, representation, cross-examination, document production, and appeal; and oversee the presentation of motions, cases in chief, and rebuttals. Id. at 417-18. TAB guidelines govern the timing, formats, and procedures for filing documents, id. at 418, and specify that a Rules infraction must be established by clear and convincing evidence, with any affirmative defenses to be established by a preponderance of the evidence, id. Witnesses are sworn and exhibits may be introduced. Id. Respondents may appeal a hearing officer's decision to an internal appeals board and, from there, to state court. Id. at 419. The TAB is required by statute to compile ... complete and accurate records relating to all charges and dispositions. N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 1209-a(4)(f). In other words, in these and many other particulars, the TAB acts very much like a court of first instance. At the same time, the TAB's powers and procedures are not the same as a court's. To enforce a subpoena that is not obeyed, the TAB may make application to the [New York] supreme court. Id. § 1209-a(7)(e). Although a TAB final order may be enforced without court proceedings in the same manner as ... money judgments entered in civil actions, id. § 1209-a(9)(b), the TAB may need to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of such a decision, id. § 1209-a(4)(g). Most of the rules of evidence do not apply to TAB hearings, id. § 1209-a(7)(e), and no pre-hearing motions or discovery are permitted, TAB Guidelines §§ 2.3, 2.8. The notice of violation itself, without additional corroboration, is deemed prima facie evidence of a violation. Id. § 2.1. And, significantly, the records the TAB compiles on charges and dispositions are, by statute, exempt from disclosure under New York's Freedom of Information Law. N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 1209-a(4)(f); see N.Y. Pub. Officers Law § 87. [5]