If A License Is Suspended For Non-Criminal Matters Such As Failing To Pay Child Support, Can The Fines And Court Costs Be Avoided?
That’s the tricky thing about these traffic crimes and DWLSR.
What Happens When Someone Is Pulled Over While Driving On A Suspended License?
There are a couple of different protocols and there are several different ways the police may handle this. It usually depends on the reason your license is suspended. The officer may be able to give you an NTA or a Notice to Appear in Court in lieu of an actual arrest.
Different Types of License Suspensions In Florida
There are different types of license suspensions in Florida. There are different terms for everything but at the end of the day, the end-result is the same. Your license is suspended.
There is a driver’s license revocation, which is just termination of your privilege to drive, meaning just the license is revoked. There is a driver’s license suspension, called the withdrawal of driving privileges. There is also an administrative suspension, which is the actual department itself, the DMV withdrawing your abilities to drive, and there is also a cancellation which is just delaying a driving privilege.
There are different types but realistically, all comes down to your licenses being suspended. It means there are different ways of getting your license back depending if it’s revoked, suspended, or it’s cancelled.
D6 License Suspension
A D6 license suspension is basically the state of Florida suspending your privilege to drive. The most common reason for the D6 is usually just a failure to pay a traffic ticket.
Other reasons: if someone was convicted of a drug charge or if one failed to do the mandatory alcohol evaluation treatment for a DUI this results in their license being suspended. The only way they can get it back is by either paying that ticket, or doing the course they’re supposed to do. Once done, the judge himself or herself will have to lift the D6 suspension.
FR Suspension Or Financial Responsibility Suspension
An FR suspension stands for Financial Responsibility suspension. The DMV basically states that driving is a privilege, so they promulgated many different ways for your license to be suspended.
In a Financial Responsibility suspension, if you don’t pay a traffic ticket, if you don’t pay a red light camera ticket, if you don’t pay your insurance, if you don’t pay the things that are required for you to be able to drive, the DMV will suspend your license for the financial responsibility and in order to get your license back, you’ll have to pay off everything you own in order for an individual to drive again.
If you need information on the Different Types Of License Suspensions And Their Consequences, call the law office of Blake & Dorsten P.A. for a free initial consultation at (727) 386-6956 and get the information and legal answers you’re seeking.
Defending A Driving On A Suspended License Charge In Florida
Pinellas County court has specialized courts that deals strictly with traffic citations, DUIs and license suspension, like driving while license suspended issues. Attorney Nicholas Dorsten and Rex Blake have more than 25 years of combined experience in prosecuting and defending these types of cases.
Habitual Traffic Offenders In Florida And Their Consequences
A habitual traffic offender is found under statute 322.264. That means that someone receives 3 or more specific traffic violations within a 5-year period. These violations include serious cases such as vehicular manslaughter but they also include any combination of DUI, driving while license suspended, or even if they receive 15 traffic infractions in that period, such as speeding, running red light, no lights on, etc.
If someone picks up two driving while license suspended (DWLSR) within a 5-year period, they are a habitual offender.
Short And Long Term Effects Of Having A Traffic Violation On Your Record
When someone gets a traffic infraction or multiple traffic infractions and they don’t have an attorney deal with them, the short term effects are that their insurance is going to go up costing hundreds or possibly even thousands of extra dollars a year.
Long term effects if you start getting points on your license, you’re putting yourself at risk of a driver’s license suspension. Once your license is suspended, it is considered a criminal charge if you then knowingly drive. License suspensions can be very problematic as you legally can’t drive to work, to visit friends or loved ones or even to maintain the necessities of life. So it is vital that your license is not suspended. The criminal defense lawyers at Blake & Dorsten, P.A. may be able to save your license!
Consequences Of License Suspension For Commercial Drivers
The biggest consequence of a commercial driver’s license suspension is that your actual livelihood is at risk. It is crucial to have a lawyer representing them because one cannot avoid points on their commercial driver’s license (CDL). Any infraction or moving violation you receive as a commercial driver, you are not allowed to get a withhold. The judge must give you points on your CDL which renders many drivers unemployable. The bottom line is unless you have a lawyer fighting for you and getting the ticket dismissed, you will be receiving points on your CDL.
This is the Florida point system, and for commercial drivers who drive for a living, it’s a lot stricter and they are a lot more likely to suspend your CDL or Commercial Driver’s License.
If you are facing a Traffic Violation Or A License Suspension In Florida, call the law office of Blake & Dorsten P.A. for a free initial consultation at (727) 386-6956 and get the information and legal answers you’re seeking.
How Long Does Someone Have To File For A Hearing If They’ve Received A Traffic Violation Ticket In Florida
If it’s a basic traffic violation, with very few exceptions, they usually have 30 days. They may still be able to file for a hearing after that time but then they may need to pay an additional fine.
In Florida, a brand new legal case just came out that concerns those who have a commercial driver’s license (“CDL”). CDL are driver’s licenses that are needed for many jobs. Commercial truck drivers, beer trucks and even some furniture movers need to have this license.
The big problem for these CDL carriers happens when they receive a traffic ticket. Speeding, careless driving or even lesser known tickets such as a wide turn brought major problems to these drivers. That is because with a CDL you are unable to receive a withhold of ajudication. Any ticket you receive is an automatic conviction if you are found guilty. A conviction mean points on your driver’s license and often automatic termination of your employment!
Unlike us non-commercial drivers, these drivers are unable to take a driving course in lieu of a conviction or have their traffic ticket attorney negotiate a no-conviction plea with the state.
This may all change now with a brand new court case that just came out. If it stands, CDL drivers will now be able to receive a “withhold” on their traffic tickets, saving them both their employment and their jobs.
The case, State v. Bandy, FLW SUPP 2207BAND, was published March 9, 2015. To summarize, the case says a CDL driver can get a withhold, if he enters a nolo plea. The Court says as follows:
“F.S. §318.14(9) prohibits a CDL driver from electing driving school. That enactment was well within the legislature’s province. Significantly, the legislature could have, but did not, amend F.S. §318.14(11), Florida Statutes, regarding CDL drivers and withholding ajudication. The legislature could have, but did not amend Chapter 318.14(11) to state, for example, that “withholding ajudication of guilt by the judge or official for a driver who holds a commercial driver’s license is prohibited, and the judge or official is required to ajudicate as guilty every case in which the CDL Defendant enters a plea of nolo contendre. The failure of the legislature to amend F.S. §318.14(11) to prohibit a judge or official from withholding ajudication is a CDL case, but enacting F.S. Sec. 318.14(9) to prohibit the CDL driver’s election of driving school to obtain a clerk’s withhold of ajudication, is an expression of the legislature’s intent to allow a withhold of ajudication for a CDL driver who enters a plea of nolo contendere for the court’s determination of the disposition of the case.”
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Want to avoid a traffic ticket for not having a car seat for your child? Well for one Florida woman the answer was simple: put your baby in the trunk! Luckily police found this out quickly…
19-year-old Breona Watkins was out driving without a headlight late at night. When a Broward Sheriff Deputy attempted to pull her over, she continued driving for several blocks.
After claiming she didn’t stop her car because she has “never been pulled over before”, Ms. Watkins then gave a false name to a law enforcement officer. The new mother then admitted that she did not have a driver’s license and was arrested for a dwlsr. That is when things took a dark turn…
During the traffic stop, a second deputy heard what sounded like “crying from the vehicle and there was no child in the vehicle”. When the deputy opened the trunk they found Ms. Watkin’s child inside. The baby was on top of plant cutting shears, surrounded by a rusty coat hanger, a tire iron and several plastic bags among other dangerous objects.Upon questioning, Ms. Watkins told the police that her baby had been sitting on the lap of a 14-year-old passenger. When police pulled her over, she told the passenger to stash the baby in the trunk through the back seat which folded down. At no time did the mother tll the police this during the more then 15 minute traffic stop because according to the mother, she didn’t want to get a ticket for not having a car seat for her baby!
For trying to avoid a traffic ticket the mother was arrested and charged with felony child cruelty, obstruction, multiple tickets and a driving without a license. As of this writing she remains in jail.
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From the BayNews9 website, a local Saint Petersburg man finds himself in hot water after posting a threat to local police online…
Here is how not to do it: 35-year-old Bruce Santee of Saint Petersburg was arrested and charged with a felony after offering $100 to anyone who killed the police officer who pulled his ride over on a traffic stop. Local police were not amused…
It started over a simple traffic ticket. Santee was a passenger in a car that was pulled over by a Pinellas Park police officer when the driver failed to yield. Instead of just watching the driver pay the ticket or hiring an attorney to fight it, the defendant had other plans.
Arriving home late Monday night, Santee instead sounded off on Facebook. In the late night post Santee proceeded to name the officer by name, threatening him and offering $100 to anyone who would kill him.
Police responded with a late night arrest, charging him with a violation of 836.10– written threat to kill/do bodily harm. While at first glance the allegations seemed laughable, the charge is nothing if not serious. The crime, a second-degree felony, is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and an automatic conviction. At least in Pinellas county, Santee appears to have no prior criminal record. To potentially be a convicted felon after what at first glance appears to be blowing off steam (in a perhaps foolish manner) would be a tough pill for him to swallow.
LEGAL OPTIONS
Are there potential options for first time offenders? Is it possible to avoid a conviction and perhaps get the case dismissed? With early intervention and the help of a criminal defense lawyer, there may be several option to help first time offenders! Options may include, but are not limited to: pre-trial intervention (PTI), a negotiated plea with the state,and a departure hearing (if otherwise qualified) among others.
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From the Tampa Bay Times, a local man was sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in an aggravated fleeing and eluding case.
The 22-year-old man pled guilty to multiple charges including grand theft of a motor cehicle, DUI with property damage, fleeing and eluding and child abuse in front of Pinellas circuit court Judge Keith Myers. In addition, the defendant’s driver’s license was also revoked for life.
The chase, which lasted 14 minutes, occurred all through St. Petersburg back on July 9, 2012. The defendant was spotted by members of the Gulfport police department in a stolen SUV and began to chase him to 38th avenue North before looping back south.
The chase ended when the suspect hit a PSTA bus and then crashed into a house. The defendant’s two-year-old son was in the backseat and another passenger was severely injured. This particular case was credited for the reason that the Gulfport police department revamped their chase policies.
Among his many charges, the defendant was charged with child neglect/child abuse even though the child was not beaten or harmed. In Florida (and in Pinellas in particular), a parent driving under the influence of alcohol can be charged with child abuse or neglect as the theory is this puts the child in harm. Every county handles these cases differently. Some state attorney offices will not press forward, while other counties will punish the defendant’s severely for that particular charge.
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