NY & CT - involves reciprocity
OK I'll try to keep this short but the whole situation is very confusing, at least to me.
I have a New York driver's license. Several months ago I got a DUI in Connecticut. I am going into a pre-trial alcohol education program for first-time offenders and upon completion the charge will be dismissed so I will not be convicted. My lawyer told me that this is how it will work regarding my driver's license: he said that since I hold a NY license, CT can't suspend my license - only my right to drive in CT. But since the two states have reciprocity between one another, once CT upholds my suspension, they should notify NY and then NY should suspend my driver's license for the exact same period as my CT suspension. After my administrative per se hearing in CT, CT notified me by mail that my suspension had been upheld and my right to drive in CT was suspended for 6 months. They didn't say anything about my NY driver's license or about expecting to hear from them or anything. And I never received any correspondence from NY or the NY DMV at all.
So now it's been about 2 months since my right to drive in CT was suspended. I still haven't gotten any correspondence from NY at all, which I thought was weird, so I called my lawyer to ask about it. He was not helpful. I understand that he practices in CT, not NY, so he isn't really familiar with how NY handles this specifically. Still, his response of "um, let me do a google search" was pretty disappointing. All he could do was repeat his spiel about how reciprocity is *supposed* to work, and then he recommended that I request a copy of my driving record and the status of my license from the NY DMV. The NY DMV has an online service called MyDMV which allows you to request a driving record abstract. I ordered an electronic one and they also mailed me a paper copy. The DMV clearly states that this abstract will show you the current status of your license (valid, suspended, revoked, conditional, etc.) as well as list any suspensions, revocations, moving violations and such. The abstract I obtained of my license lists the status of my license as VALID - the DMV says that this means "unless expired, full driving privileges are in effect." There is no suspension listed under activity. In fact, the only activity listed at all is me exchanging my CT license for a NY license when I moved to NY several years ago. I have never been pulled over in NY so it's not a surprise that there are no moving violations on there or anything, but my point is there is no suspension shown, and I even looked at a sample they provide which clearly shows you how suspensions, revocations and other things should be displayed on the abstract.
So to me it seems all signs point to my NY license being valid and not suspended...but how could that happen? Could something have fallen through the cracks of the bureaucracy or could NY have actually chosen not to suspend my license for some reason? Obviously, being able to drive in all states except CT would be great...but I don't want to shoulder any legitimate risk of getting into trouble. But how could I? Like I said my own lawyer was the only person who told me to expect a license suspension from NY. I never heard from NY, and it was never mentioned to me by CT, the police, nor the judge or prosecutor in my criminal case. None of them gave me any indication that it would be suspended, and the NY DMV's own records seem to indicate that my license is valid and in good standing. But my main concern here is what would happen if New York just happened to catch their mistake, even if I chose not to drive. Say I continue to do what I have been doing - assume that the license is suspended and refrain from driving at all, anywhere. Say that NY just happens to catch the mistake one day. Would they then decide that they're going to suspend my license for 6 months starting NOW, when my right to drive in CT has already been suspended for several months even though I've been assuming my license was suspended and haven't been driving at all? I just don't want to have a 6 month suspension effectively turn into an 8, 9, 10 or 11 month suspension just because somebody made a clerical error or something - especially if I didn't even take advantage of that error and hadn't been driving at all.
Please no trolls I came here for actual advice not a lecture - I made a mistake I own it and I'm trying to move forward. Idk why anybody would waste their time coming to a forum dedicated to questions about DUI law just to lecture and chastise every poster without answering the question, but I've read a couple threads in here and apparently several people make a hobby of it. Don't waste your time or mine...thank you in advance to anybody who will take the time to provide a meaningful response.
OK I'll try to keep this short but the whole situation is very confusing, at least to me.
I have a New York driver's license. Several months ago I got a DUI in Connecticut. I am going into a pre-trial alcohol education program for first-time offenders and upon completion the charge will be dismissed so I will not be convicted. My lawyer told me that this is how it will work regarding my driver's license: he said that since I hold a NY license, CT can't suspend my license - only my right to drive in CT. But since the two states have reciprocity between one another, once CT upholds my suspension, they should notify NY and then NY should suspend my driver's license for the exact same period as my CT suspension. After my administrative per se hearing in CT, CT notified me by mail that my suspension had been upheld and my right to drive in CT was suspended for 6 months. They didn't say anything about my NY driver's license or about expecting to hear from them or anything. And I never received any correspondence from NY or the NY DMV at all.
So now it's been about 2 months since my right to drive in CT was suspended. I still haven't gotten any correspondence from NY at all, which I thought was weird, so I called my lawyer to ask about it. He was not helpful. I understand that he practices in CT, not NY, so he isn't really familiar with how NY handles this specifically. Still, his response of "um, let me do a google search" was pretty disappointing. All he could do was repeat his spiel about how reciprocity is *supposed* to work, and then he recommended that I request a copy of my driving record and the status of my license from the NY DMV. The NY DMV has an online service called MyDMV which allows you to request a driving record abstract. I ordered an electronic one and they also mailed me a paper copy. The DMV clearly states that this abstract will show you the current status of your license (valid, suspended, revoked, conditional, etc.) as well as list any suspensions, revocations, moving violations and such. The abstract I obtained of my license lists the status of my license as VALID - the DMV says that this means "unless expired, full driving privileges are in effect." There is no suspension listed under activity. In fact, the only activity listed at all is me exchanging my CT license for a NY license when I moved to NY several years ago. I have never been pulled over in NY so it's not a surprise that there are no moving violations on there or anything, but my point is there is no suspension shown, and I even looked at a sample they provide which clearly shows you how suspensions, revocations and other things should be displayed on the abstract.
So to me it seems all signs point to my NY license being valid and not suspended...but how could that happen? Could something have fallen through the cracks of the bureaucracy or could NY have actually chosen not to suspend my license for some reason? Obviously, being able to drive in all states except CT would be great...but I don't want to shoulder any legitimate risk of getting into trouble. But how could I? Like I said my own lawyer was the only person who told me to expect a license suspension from NY. I never heard from NY, and it was never mentioned to me by CT, the police, nor the judge or prosecutor in my criminal case. None of them gave me any indication that it would be suspended, and the NY DMV's own records seem to indicate that my license is valid and in good standing. But my main concern here is what would happen if New York just happened to catch their mistake, even if I chose not to drive. Say I continue to do what I have been doing - assume that the license is suspended and refrain from driving at all, anywhere. Say that NY just happens to catch the mistake one day. Would they then decide that they're going to suspend my license for 6 months starting NOW, when my right to drive in CT has already been suspended for several months even though I've been assuming my license was suspended and haven't been driving at all? I just don't want to have a 6 month suspension effectively turn into an 8, 9, 10 or 11 month suspension just because somebody made a clerical error or something - especially if I didn't even take advantage of that error and hadn't been driving at all.
Please no trolls I came here for actual advice not a lecture - I made a mistake I own it and I'm trying to move forward. Idk why anybody would waste their time coming to a forum dedicated to questions about DUI law just to lecture and chastise every poster without answering the question, but I've read a couple threads in here and apparently several people make a hobby of it. Don't waste your time or mine...thank you in advance to anybody who will take the time to provide a meaningful response.
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