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Driving on Suspended due dmv error

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corym

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California.

Long Story short. I was pulled over due to speeding, while driving home to orange county from san francisco. I did not have any identification other than a california state ID, so the officer ran my drivers license # and it turns out my license was suspended due to no proof of financial responsibility. I was charged for speeding and driving on a suspended.

Due to previous driving issues, (Already been convicted of driving on suspended twice), I need an Sr-22 to have my license. My license was suspended at the beginning of the year, until i purchased a full year of insurance and my insurance company sent in the sr22 to the dmv. To my knowledge and what I was informed by my insurance broker, I was good to drive. Turns out, after I had dug up some information, my Insurance company has record of sending the SR22 electronically and a hard copy, but the dmv has no record of ever receiving it, so there for my license was actually never reinstated. So, I went in the day after receiving my ticket and showed the dmv my physical sr22 and they issued me a drivers license right then and there.

My question is this. I have all the proof on the insurances side, saying they sent in a sr22 and I should have had my license reinstated. So i can prove to a judge I was supposed to have a license and took care of all necessary requirements to obtain one, but can the judge say I should have known that my license was still infact suspended? and do i need any other form of proof? Is a driving on a suspended in this sort of situation even correctable?

any sort of advice would be really helpful! Im really afraid of having to goto jail, considering I actually did my part to not get in trouble!
 
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Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California.

Long Story short. I was pulled over due to speeding, while driving home to orange county from san francisco. I did not have any identification other than a california state ID, so the officer ran my drivers license # and it turns out my license was suspended due to no proof of financial responsibility. I was charged for speeding and driving on a suspended.

Due to previous driving issues, (Already been convicted of driving on suspended twice), I need an Sr-22 to have my license. My license was suspended at the beginning of the year, until i purchased a full year of insurance and my insurance company sent in the sr22 to the dmv. To my knowledge and what I was informed by my insurance broker, I was good to drive. Turns out, after I had dug up some information, my Insurance company has record of sending the SR22 electronically and a hard copy, but the dmv has no record of ever receiving it, so there for my license was actually never reinstated. So, I went in the day after receiving my ticket and showed the dmv my physical sr22 and they issued me a drivers license right then and there.

My question is this. I have all the proof on the insurances side, saying they sent in a sr22 and I should have had my license reinstated. So i can prove to a judge I was supposed to have a license and took care of all necessary requirements to obtain one, but can the judge say I should have known that my license was still infact suspended? and do i need any other form of proof? Is a driving on a suspended in this sort of situation even correctable?

any sort of advice would be really helpful! Im really afraid of having to goto jail, considering I actually did my part to not get in trouble!
But, you did NOT take care of all the requirements. You didn't go to the DMV to get your license reinstated (and pay the fee).
 

Isis1

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California.

Long Story short. I was pulled over due to speeding, while driving home to orange county from san francisco. I did not have any identification other than a california state ID, so the officer ran my drivers license # and it turns out my license was suspended due to no proof of financial responsibility. I was charged for speeding and driving on a suspended.

Due to previous driving issues, (Already been convicted of driving on suspended twice), I need an Sr-22 to have my license. My license was suspended at the beginning of the year, until i purchased a full year of insurance and my insurance company sent in the sr22 to the dmv. To my knowledge and what I was informed by my insurance broker, I was good to drive. Turns out, after I had dug up some information, my Insurance company has record of sending the SR22 electronically and a hard copy, but the dmv has no record of ever receiving it, so there for my license was actually never reinstated. So, I went in the day after receiving my ticket and showed the dmv my physical sr22 and they issued me a drivers license right then and there.

My question is this. I have all the proof on the insurances side, saying they sent in a sr22 and I should have had my license reinstated. So i can prove to a judge I was supposed to have a license and took care of all necessary requirements to obtain one, but can the judge say I should have known that my license was still infact suspended? and do i need any other form of proof? Is a driving on a suspended in this sort of situation even correctable?

any sort of advice would be really helpful! Im really afraid of having to goto jail, considering I actually did my part to not get in trouble!
only because i actually have been in a situation very similar...

i was pulled over for bad tags, my license came up suspended. officer was very generous. told me to park and i can call someone to pick up my car, but he doesn't want to catch me driving it. fair enough

i went to the DMV, they said "Oops" fixed it, went to the courthouse, they said "Oops" and removed the ticket.

all because the insurance company made a boo boo. it happens. i didn't lose any money, just a bit of time.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Bring your proof with you to court nad see what they have to say.

However, the fact that you apparently had never been issued a new driver's license (as evidenced by the fact you had only an ID card to present to the officer) should have been a clue that you needed to do something else.

Yes, the DA or the court may let the charge slide. But, maybe they will say the fault was yours.

Is this being charged as a misdemeanor in criminal court? Or as an infraction in traffic court?

- Carl
 

corym

Junior Member
It was marked as a misdemeanor, so I have go to criminal court unfortunatley. Which I'm worried about because I've been to criminal court before an the judge was a jerk and I didn't know how it worked and just plead guilty. When I talked to a lawyer later on they said you never do that. So is there a proper way I should deal with a judge in criminal court so I don't screw myself over? Or atleast can protect myself til I know if I need to get some sort of representation? I realllllllly don't want to get fined all crazy or get jail time for this. I have wayyy to much to lose at this point in my life.
 
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CdwJava

Senior Member
Often times these will get dropped to an infraction and heard in traffic court - it's cheaper that way.

When you appear for your arraignment on the date and time indicated on the citation, you will have an opportunity to make your plea. if this is to be heard in criminal court with the possibility of jail time, you will have the opportunity to have publicly appointed counsel. If traffic court or if no jail time, then you are on your own.

You might consider consulting an attorney, just in case. It could be a simple matter to have dismissed with an attorney to make the right moves. Otherwise, you might be a little over your head.

-carl
 

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