Operating under suspension

[thirdsong]

Maine.My question is. i was charged with driving under suspension and possessing a suspended license. Here is the scenerio. I was sleeping in my car half home from working night shift. key in passenger seat. officer taps on my window to see if im ok. asks for id. then proceeds to tell me they had a complaint about this car with matching plate driving eradically. and said she would be right back. now hear is the suspended license part. she wont give back the license and i have to wait for the sheriff to arrive to decide what to do with me. He "the sheriff" tels me to find a ride or he is takeing me in. With his demeaner and his tone i was put back a bit and asked why he was appraoching me like that. he said i have a history of suspensions and he is about to haul me in. i said...sir i wasnt driving. noone saw me drive. the guy i rode with was just picked up by his wife and i took a nap because i worked night shift. i havent done anything wrong. he walked away. He called the female officer back to the scene. I heard him ask if she saw me drive and she said no. I got out of the car because i didnt want her saying anything untrue. He asked me if i told the officer that i was driving. I said no. he said are you saying she is a liar. i said no. He said thats it you are under arrest for lying to an officer. i said what...no im not. he repeated himself. i was so shocked of his terms for arresting me i diagreed saying that lying if i did is not a crime. and he pulled his stun gun out and said i am going to ask you one more time put your hands behind your back. so i am arrested. Then he fills out paper work on D.A.S. i ask on the way to the jail why he arrested me. he said for the driving under suspension. I said no...you said something else. he disagreed. I said...you told me i was under arrest for lying and instead you fill out tickets for D.A.S. his response is "whatever" so i need to know if i have any rights here. I wasnt driving. I wasnt driving when i was questioned. And i was arrested for lying. Which i didnt. but i was charged with a crime that noone can prove if it happened. It was dark out. No id. and i was sleeping for at least 20 min before i was awoken by the officer. all circumstancial. Alot of hearsay and no proof. and no miranda rights were read to me.

 

[The Occultist]

I must admit, you have a magical way with words, but from here on out I highly recommend having an attorney decide what words to share with the powers that be, yes?

 

[Maestro64]

Here is the problem you are up against, traffic violation in Maine are considered a civil offense, as such the state only has to prove you were more likely than not to have committed the offense. In your case being in a car on the side of road somewhere, it is very reasonable to believe the only way it got there was you drove it there. You kind of have to un-prove that assumption.

However, in a state where tickets are civil one usually can not be arrested for that. Read the link

http://www.courts.state.me.us/maine_courts/specialized/traffic/contested.htm

Considering that, you have to ask were you in fact arrest and mirandized is not required for an arrest, only if they plan to use your words against you or question you.