court fines?

Question

My husband and i have a court date involving a lapse in our insurance and suspended licence plates. We are fighting this(where never notified) but I'm scared. If we're found at fault, how much can we be fined, and how long do we have to pay it?

This is in North Carolina.

It's frustrating. We didn't receive notice that the insurance was being canceled, and then the DMV sent the notice that they had revoked the plates to our old address(we'd given them a change of address form). We only found out when we went to renew the plates.

When we found out about the lapse, we corrected it right away, and the insurance told us everything was fine and that we where good to go. They never told us that they had contacted the state

Barry, the licence plate was suspended because we didn't contact the DMV within 30 days. We didn't contact because they sent the info to the wrong address

Answer 1

First of all, you are responsible for knowing when your registration is due. It isn't too difficult, all you have to do is look at the stickers on the license plate to find out. Second, the lapse in insurance coverage is also your responsibility - you are supposed to know when your coverage is up. I don't think it would be wise to fight this. You will have a tough time using ignorance as a defense. The amount of the fine will be up to the court and it varies from state to state. Payment plans can usually be arranged. The bottom line is this - it is your responsibility to keep your insurance current and your vehicle's registration up to date. There are no laws requiring someone to notify you about this - you are an adult, so start acting like one and learn from this.

Answer 2

this must be a texas thing - and a real eye opener for those who think that red states don't have more intrusive govt than blue states.

in mass, where i live, the courts would never ever get involved in such a thing. if you got a citation from a police officer, that would be different, but fining you for having an expired tag is a new one on me.

if i were you, i'd just tell them that the car was not in use for the time that the tag was not valid.

let them prove that it was.

something must be lost in the translation here - i can't imagine why the courts are even involved in this if there was no ticket issued by a cop...

Answer 3

In Most towns they have a group of people that were ex cops they have help for people who truly are honest and are in need. in my town they are called Tips, they give you good advice about such Minor issues, you would be wise to ask around and get some advice, remember never admit to guilt it will only bring you to the letter of the law, but if you have a better way the courts are always willing be understand, i would try and make a meeting before your trial date with the prosecutors office and plead guilty with cause that you were not aware of the violation in most cases the prosecutor will cut the fine in half and you will loose no points.

Answer 4

What state is this, and what is the specific code section you were cited for violating?

- Carl