Maryland Suspended License Lawyer
The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) regulates licensing. This agency is in charge of driver’s license issuance, suspension, cancellation, renewal and all of the things associated with driving in Maryland. If you have questions about your license as it relates to the MVA and your DUI case, contact a Maryland DUI lawyer for help.
Points and a Suspended License
Almost every moving violation in Maryland carries some type of points against your driver’s license. Drivers accumulate points which vary depending on the status of the driver. New drivers on provisional licenses can get fewer points than drivers who have been driving for a while. If you get 12 points as an adult driver, the MVA may suspend your license. If that happens, you can’t drive unless the MVA chooses to modify the suspension or issues some kind of work permit or restricted program.
There are several ways a person’s license may get suspended. Unpaid traffic tickets are one way. The MVA can also suspend your license for a speeding ticket that you don’t pay or go to court for. There are some types of administrative suspensions based on DUIs or convictions for other kinds of offenses that the MVA may impose as well. It can range from not paying a speeding ticket, to getting a DUI, to getting too many points on your license that causes a suspension.
Penalties for Driving on a Suspended License
There are two major types of driving while suspended convictions in Maryland. The more serious, driving while suspended conviction, carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Those penalties, which are actually exactly the same as the penalties for a DUI in Maryland, are very serious penalties. The lesser driving suspended charge carries a maximum of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Those penalties are similar to the penalties for driving impaired. Both of those driving suspended cases carry very serious and significant penalties. Call a Maryland suspended license lawyer for more information.
License Suspension Defense
The state needs to show that you were suspended and that you knew or should have known that your license was suspended in order to convict you of driving under suspension. The fact that the MVA mailed a notice to the last known address creates a presumption that you knew that your license was suspended, but that is a rebuttable presumption. You can show that you had no idea and that you didn’t receive proper notice that your license was suspended which is a defense in a driving suspended case. In terms of mitigation, it’s very similar to driving without insurance cases. Immediately correcting the situation is a huge mitigating factor in these cases. If you get the driving suspended ticket that day or the next day and you fixed the suspension of your license, that’s going to a huge mitigating factor. If this is a first time offense, you will be treated much better than if it’s a subsequent offense.
Contact a Maryland Suspended License Lawyer Today
The criminal penalties for driving on a suspended license mirror the criminal penalties for driving under the influence. Those are very significant penalties against your driver’s license or against your personal liberty. They can have long-term implications for your license. Having a Maryland suspended license lawyer who understands the law, who understands the system and who is on your side can make a huge difference in how this case turns out for you.