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Fairfax Driving While Suspended Lawyer

A driver’s license can be suspended or revoked for a wide range of reasons, ranging from a DUI or drug conviction to receiving too many traffic tickets or not paying court fines. Whatever the reason your license was suspended, you face serious consequences and criminal charges if you are caught driving while your license is not valid. A Fairfax driving while suspended lawyer can help you to respond to the charges to try to reduce penalties or, in some cases, avoid conviction and keep a clean record.

Value of Contacting an Attorney

In order for you to be convicted of the offense of driving while suspended, you must have known that your license was not valid at the time. Depending upon when and why your license was suspended, a suspended license lawyer in Fairfax could help you to argue that you did not receive notice of the suspension and were unaware that you did not have legal permission to drive.

There is also an exception to the prohibition against driving with a suspended license in cases where an extreme emergency requires you to drive to save life or limb. If you or someone else is at serious risk of injury or harm, you are allowed to drive even when you do not have a current valid license.

A Fairfax driving while suspended lawyer will help you to explore these and other possible defenses you may be able to raise to avoid conviction.  Your attorney can also help you to negotiate a plea agreement with the prosecutor that may make it possible to avoid a criminal record, to be charged with a lesser offense, or to reduce the potential penalties.  Contact a lawyer in Fairfax with experience on suspended license cases today to learn more.

Fairfax Laws on Driving While Suspended

Virginia Code Section 46.2-301 establishes penalties for driving while a license, permit, or privilege to drive has been either suspended or revoked. You can be charged with this Class 1 misdemeanor offense whether your privilege to drive has been suspended by Virginia or by any other state.

The penalties for this offense vary depending upon whether you have any prior record of driving with a suspended license.

  • A first or second offense can result in up to a year of jail time, a $2,500 fine, and an additional license suspension for the same period as the initial suspension. If your license was suspended for an unspecified period, your additional license suspension will be up to 90 days.
  • A third offense could also result in up to a year of jail time, but there is a 10-day mandatory minimum sentence. The potential fine and license suspension term is the same as for a first or second offense.  The third offense must have occurred within 10 years of the two prior offenses for this mandatory minimum jail term to be required.

A Fairfax driving while suspended lawyer can help you to try to avoid being convicted of this offense. Your attorney can also help you to pursue a restricted license so you can get permission to do essential driving.

Working With a Fairfax Driving While Suspended Lawyer

Driving on a suspended license can have serious penalties, but there are many different means available to those individuals who choose to actively defend themselves. Call a Fairfax driving while suspended lawyer today to go over all your options if you have been charged with driving with a suspended license.

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