Penal Law § 215.59

Bail jumping and failing to respond to an appearance ticket; defense · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 215.59 Bail jumping and failing to respond to an appearance ticket;

defense.

In any prosecution for bail jumping or failing to respond to an appearance ticket, it is an affirmative defense that:

1. The defendant's failure to appear on the required date or within thirty days thereafter was unavoidable and due to circumstances beyond his control; and

2. During the period extending from the expiration of the thirty day period to the commencement of the action, the defendant either:

(a) appeared voluntarily as soon as he was able to do so, or

(b) although he did not so appear, such failure of appearance was unavoidable and due to circumstances beyond his control.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/215.59

In plain English

For bail jumping or failure to answer an appearance ticket, it is an affirmative defense that:

(1) missing the required date and the following 30 days was unavoidable and beyond the defendant’s control; and
(2)(a) the defendant then appeared voluntarily as soon as able, or (2)(b) the continued nonappearance remained unavoidable and beyond the defendant’s control. ★

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.