Driving with a suspended, canceled, refused, or revoked license in Maryland can have serious consequences, but I can help you avoid them. Just because your license was suspended doesn’t mean that you are guilty. I have helped hundreds of other people just like you with charges in Maryland courts, and I can help you too.
The state has to prove that you knew you were suspended and drove anyway in order to convict. While they are allowed to infer your knowledge without any direct evidence that you knew you were suspended, canceled, refused, or revoked, I can often stop them from doing that in a variety of ways.
The state might try to prove that you knew that you were driving while suspended or revoked using past notices that you were sent, your driving record, or statements that you may have made at the roadside when you were stopped. Driving while suspended charges carry penalties of imprisonment, fines, and points. Call me today at (301) 556-8709 so that I can start protecting you from these serious charges.
While there are several laws covering driving while suspended, canceled, refused, or revoked, there are just two sets of maximum penalties that apply. The maximum penalty depends on the status of your license and the reason that you do not have a valid license.
The first set of penalties are lower than usual and apply when you are driving with a suspended license and your license is suspended for failure to pay a fine, failure to appear in court, failure to pay child support, or failure to complete a driver improvement program in Maryland, or for owning an uninsured vehicle registered in Maryland. If you are charged for driving with a suspended Maryland license under Maryland Code Transportation Article (TA) §16-303(h), or in another state under TA §16-303(i), you must appear in court and could be fined up to $500. If you are found guilty, you will be assessed three points on your Maryland driver’s license. Even if you were actually suspended for something that ought to result in a charge of the lesser offense, you will often be charged with the greater offense with a higher penalty in addition to, or instead of the more appropriate offense matching your conduct. I have a lot of experience dealing with these cases and I can generally remedy any overcharging that the state might have engaged in.
The second set of penalties apply if you were charged under TA §16-303(c) and TA §16-303(f) for driving with a suspended license for a reason not stated above, or if you were charged under TA §16-303(a), (b), (d), (e), or (g) for driving with a canceled, refused, or revoked license. If you are found guilty, you could be sentenced to up to one year in jail and fined up to $1,000 for a first offense. For a second offense, you could be sentenced to up to two years imprisonment and fined up to $2,000. If you are found guilty, the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) will assess 12 points against your Maryland driver’s license. Twelve points are enough to trigger a license revocation even if you do not have any other points, but we can still request a hearing where I can usually persuade the MVA not to revoke your license.
While it is relatively unlikely that a first time offender would be sent to jail, a jail sentence is a real possibility for a repeat offender who continues to drive with a suspended, canceled, refused, or revoked license, especially if they are not represented by someone experienced in these matters. As these charges are must appear traffic offenses, they are more significant and can have more severe consequences for your reputation than a prepayable traffic ticket.
Any of these charges can result in serious consequences by themselves, and can increase your sentence if you are tried later on other charges. A skilled lawyer can greatly improve your odds of a good outcome in these cases. I have been very successful at helping people just like you beat these charges in Maryland courts. I have years of experience handling these charges successfully even in very difficult cases. Call (301) 556-8709 today so that I can start defending you from these charges.
