Moved from CA to ND, DL suspended in CA. Can't afford Fines

[beowulfthedane]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? currently North Dakota, previously California. I moved last May to North Dakota. My California Drivers License had been suspended for failure to pay a ticket for expired registration. I really can't afford the fines, as I am now a College student working 3 to 15 hours a week at minimun wage. I definitely can't go to California. What are my options? Could I write a formal letter to a judge or something? Could I agree to Community Service or something?

[I_Got_Banned]

Originally Posted by beowulfthedane

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? currently North Dakota, previously California. I moved last May to North Dakota. My California Drivers License had been suspended for failure to pay a ticket for expired registration. I really can't afford the fines, as I am now a College student working 3 to 15 hours a week at minimun wage. I definitely can't go to California.

Both, CA & ND are members in the DLC. ND in also a member in the NRVC but CA is not. Both of those Compacts are being combined into what is referred to as the DLA (here's a link http://www.aamva.org/aamva/DocumentDisplay.aspx?id={A0B6D32F-1B87-4430-9639-DAFC6A67AA54} and another link [url=http://www.aamva.org/KnowledgeCenter/Driver/Compacts/]AAMVA : Driver License Compacts: Jurisdictional Agreements[/url] ...

Point is, with your CA license being suspended, there is a chance that you driving privilege in ND will eventually be suspended as well, unless and until you take care of the citation.

Originally Posted by beowulfthedane

Could I write a formal letter to a judge or something?

You can try but I highly doubt it will work. You can present proof that you did register your vehicle (before the appearance date on the original citation - not sure if you did that or not) and the registration violation could be dismissed. However, since you failed to appear/pay the citation on time, chances are that the court added an FTA/FTP charge to the citation. The penalty for that alone can be a fine in upwards of $500 in addition to the license suspension.

Originally Posted by beowulfthedane

Could I agree to Community Service or something?

Even if the judge were to offer you community service, first, there are fees associated with that option and second, you would be ordered to perform the community service in the county where the court is... Not in a different state.