How Your Driver’s License Can Be Suspended in Prince William County
The following information is taken from an interview with a Prince William County traffic lawyer as they discuss driver’s license suspensions and the various ways someone’s license can be suspended. To learn more call and schedule a consultation with an attorney today.
There are number of ways that your license can get suspended in Prince William County due to the fact that there are a number of criminal statutes which include the suspension of driving privileges. Some of the most common examples of license suspensions are for:
- DUIs
- Hit and runs,
- and for other traffic felonies.
In addition to serious traffic misdemeanors and felonies under Virginia law, almost every drug-related conviction results in the suspension of driving privileges for a period of time.
Other Types of License Suspensions
You can also have your license suspended for failure to pay fines and costs. So for example, if a person receives a traffic infraction for going 9 miles an hour over the speed limit and does not challenge the ticket and thereafter does not pay their fine, the DMV will administratively suspend their privilege to drive until they have paid their costs and fines and paid a reinstatement fee.
This is a provision that is almost impossible to challenge once DMV has made the administrative suspension. The only way to prevent this from happening is to make sure that a person defends their traffic infraction or misdemeanor, and in the case of any conviction, makes sure that their costs and fines are timely paid.
A person’s license can also be suspended because of a DUI. This is another scenario where the license suspension cannot be independently challenged. If a person is convicted of a DUI, depending on the level of the DUI, the license suspension is automatic. The only way that a person can get their license back is to wait out the period of time of the suspension or be acquitted at trial.
Restricted Driver’s License
However, in many cases, the court can authorize a restricted driver’s license which will allow a person to get to work or school, to probation meetings, and a number of other things.
The different ways that you can challenge a license suspension in Prince William County will depend on what kind of charge you have. Because a license suspension cannot be challenged independently from the criminal charge, the only way for a person to prevent this from happening is to take seriously either the misdemeanor or felony that they are accused of and to defend that case in court with the assistance of a lawyer.
In any case where a license suspension is possible, a person must appear in court and if necessary appeal their charge from the General District Court to the Circuit Court. A Prince William County traffic lawyer can help protect the person’s driving privileges by knowing the intricacies of various laws that can trigger a license suspension on conviction, knowing what alternatives are possible, and knowing the best ways to build defenses to these charges.
Do not send us confidential information related to you or your company until you speak with one of our attorneys and get authorization to send that information to us.