I am 19 and never received a ticket for anything to this point, I was away at collage and part of a fraternity pledge was to drink 1 can of beer. 4 of us were riding back to the dorm when the driver (who is 21) was pulled over because he did not come to a complete stop at a stop sign. The officer smelt alcohol and gave us all a breathalyser. We all blew 1/4 the legal limit to drive so the driver did not get anything but us 3 were cited with underage drinking. Being naive to how the system works I paid the $280 fine and had my license suspended 1 month while the other 2's parents called the DA and had there's reduced to a $20 fine. 7 days before my suspension was up my dad received a letter from the DMV confirming my suspension will be over that date. 2 days after my suspension was up I was driving home and was pulled over for speeding, they also said I was driving with a suspended license. My dad forgot to read the back which said we had to pay to reinstate it.
2007-06-02 18:50:48 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Do I pay the $360 in fines and basically screw up my record in 1 months time or should I talk to the DA or talk to a lawyer, if so what is the best case scenario.
2007-06-02 18:53:44 · update #1
The driver was not the one suppling the beer, all 4 of us were pledging at the fraternity. The main reason anyone was cited was no one would say where they received the beer.
2007-06-02 19:00:33 · update #2
Its different in every state but in most driving on suspended requires going to court and you can not just pay the fine. Since you have gotten underage drinking, speeding and driving on suspended the judge will not be kind. And regardless you were speeding.
Drving on suspend first of all is on par w. reckless driving and DWI w. the insurance company and they will find out. Your insurance rates and your parents if you are on theirs will go up considerably. If your parents balk at hiring you an attorney point that out.
Secondly driving on suspended could and might w. the combination of charges could lead to a bit of jail time.... just a bit. Regardless if you get it suspended a ticket for anything during that time will result in jailtime. Plus a second suspension is very likely.
When you graduate most any job nowdays does a background check. If you are convicted of all the charges finding a job will be difficult at best. All that cash spent on college would be wasted, not completely but you get the point. You will be veiwed as a risk as there are other applicants who will have clean records.
So you need a lawyer. In the state I live the judge will ask you why you don't have a lawyer and if you don't you have to sign a waiver if you choose to go it alone on a suspended. A lawyer can make a deal w. the prosecuter for you...... driving classes, etc.
In my state you can simply pay $55.00 and reinstate you license. Then you can show up in court and show that you already took care of it. Most time they will just drop it. If you got a simple speeding ticket and you can prepay..... just pay it and admit you were speeding. But discuss this w. a lawyer.
Plus your dad could say that he read the letter and did not inform you...... if you were away and you did not see the letter well he can testify to that.
Why the heck would they suspend your license in the first place if you were only a passenger. That should have probably been argued in the first place and I suspect the other parents did so as well. You were not driving and you could argue that you were being responsible in a way. Did the other guys get their licenses suspended? Did the driver get a drinking underage and still allowed to drive? Most states have laws about that and I suspect that is why they got off. Your parents could threaten to sue as the police allowed him to continue to drive w. you as a passenger..... endangering your life. There are laws about this sort of thing.
Why did you pay so much and they paid only $20? There must be a reason and w. a lawyer and you might be able to get the underage thing erased. You could possibly threaten to sue and if there are grounds for this....... they may just make you sign a letter saying you won't sue in exchange for all charges dropped. This happened to me years ago with a DWI.
Bottom line...... get a lawyer as it could be so worth it in the long run. They can work wonders. And your dad should call the other parents and find out exactly what was said. Oh.... and you might, maybe, have to give up the name of who got the beer. Its your future you know.
2007-06-03 07:31:49 · answer #1 · answered by jackson 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't drive on a Suspended License. No work, no school, no groceries, and if it is an emergency you will end up talking to the judge. But, really, a month. For a month you can be a good friend and offer to drive to some of those places so you friend doesn't get into any more trouble. A month is not that long.
2016-05-19 23:04:39 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Basically its like the others stated. You had to have the license reinstated for it to be valid. If you can afford an attorney you should have one to speak on your behalf. He might be able to work a deal in which you would be able to attend a drivers improvement to get your license back. I don't know what state you are in but in Georgia its a mandatory period 6-12 months, before you can apply for reinstatement after being convicted of driving while license suspended.
2007-06-02 22:02:50 · answer #3 · answered by bsure32 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The driver should have been charged with giveing beer to a minor an call the da an get a lawyer
2007-06-02 18:57:22 · answer #4 · answered by bigdogrex 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Regardless if it was one day or two you where driving on a suspended license, you are very lucky that they didnt charge you with a misdemeanor driving on a suspended license prior which means that your license where already suspended and you got caught driving on them, really there is nothing at this point you can do but stay clean with driving and wait 2-3 years for it to drop off your driving record(point wise)
2007-06-02 20:38:02 · answer #5 · answered by dougbarker25 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go back to court and pay the fine. You will learn that saying I didn't know doesn't matter in the court of law. Telling your story before the judge will help, it would help you even more if you had an attorney. Really. Other wise you will get what ever the Judge is feeling like served to you hard and fast.
2007-06-02 18:56:43 · answer #6 · answered by freesample1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your dad for got to read the back. Well, that's the way it goes. You're s#$$##%1
So far, it looks like college has been a waste on you.
2007-06-02 19:58:34 · answer #7 · answered by TedEx 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i would go to the da as the details should have been clearly stated on that letter, and it is their fault for not clearly stating that you had to pay a fee to have the license reinstated, so **** em go higher.......
2007-06-02 19:03:33 · answer #8 · answered by Dustin 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First - stop skipping your grammar class.
The way to get out of this is rocket science, so pay close attention:
Stop Driving.Own up to your own screwup.Don't make us paramedics have to work harder than we have to.
hukd on foniks wurkd fer meeeee......
2007-06-02 19:44:14 · answer #9 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋