Taxing Matters
Overtaxed Member
First, in order to pull you over and stop you, the police needed to have reasonable suspicion that a violation may have been committed, not probable cause. Reasonable suspicion is even a lower standard than probable cause, and probable cause is itself not very demanding. So what was the reason they stopped you?
If the vehicle was indeed not registered and titled and the officers had reason to know that when they made the stop then they had reasonable suspicion and the stop was valid. If you are relying on the arguments that you see on some web sites that says that the Constitution gives you a right to drive your car on the roads without a driver's license, without titling and registering your car, or without having the required insurance then you will lose. The courts have heard those arguments many times over the past several decades and roundly rejected them. Indeed, it is so clear in the law that states may impose licensing, registration, and insurance requirements for you to drive on the roads that you risk sanctions for bringing a frivolous argument if you try to argue that position.
So, did you have the state mandated license, registration, and insurance?
I think there must be more to this story here because ordinarily simply lacking license, registration, and insurance doesn't get you tossed in jail for several days. Did you antagonize the cop during the stop at all, like spouting a lot those rejected constitutional arguments, during the stop?
As for the appeal, it is your responsibility to ensure you file the appeal timely. I've not seen the documents in your case and what you tried to do so I cannot comment on whether you have any way to save the appeal at this point. But understand it is your responsibility to get the appeal in the right format and file it on time. If you have problems with electronically filing it then you need to print the appeal and file it by hand with the court before the deadline. If you are late it may turn out that the appeal will not be accepted in which case your case is done.
If the vehicle was indeed not registered and titled and the officers had reason to know that when they made the stop then they had reasonable suspicion and the stop was valid. If you are relying on the arguments that you see on some web sites that says that the Constitution gives you a right to drive your car on the roads without a driver's license, without titling and registering your car, or without having the required insurance then you will lose. The courts have heard those arguments many times over the past several decades and roundly rejected them. Indeed, it is so clear in the law that states may impose licensing, registration, and insurance requirements for you to drive on the roads that you risk sanctions for bringing a frivolous argument if you try to argue that position.
So, did you have the state mandated license, registration, and insurance?
I think there must be more to this story here because ordinarily simply lacking license, registration, and insurance doesn't get you tossed in jail for several days. Did you antagonize the cop during the stop at all, like spouting a lot those rejected constitutional arguments, during the stop?
As for the appeal, it is your responsibility to ensure you file the appeal timely. I've not seen the documents in your case and what you tried to do so I cannot comment on whether you have any way to save the appeal at this point. But understand it is your responsibility to get the appeal in the right format and file it on time. If you have problems with electronically filing it then you need to print the appeal and file it by hand with the court before the deadline. If you are late it may turn out that the appeal will not be accepted in which case your case is done.
