Clearwater Suspended License Lawyer
If you’ve been charged with driving with a suspended license, a Clearwater license suspension attorney at Hersem Law can help you fight back.
It can be pretty difficult to travel in Clearwater without a driver’s license. A bus might not stop in the right area, rideshares and taxis can get expensive, and distance might keep that bike in the garage. If you’re license has been suspended or revoked, you may be tempted to drive anyway.
That’s why you may need a lawyer from Hersem Law to help you defend yourself against a charge of driving while license suspended in Florida. Your Clearwater suspended license lawyer at Hersem Law can be key to avoiding penalties for driving without a license.
Penalties for Driving with a Suspended License in Florida
There are two sides of a driving while license suspended charge to be concerned with: the court side and the DMV side.
Whether the driving while suspended charge is criminal driving while license suspended charge is civil or criminal depends on whether the state believes they can prove you had knowledge of the suspension. If the officer writes the ticket as “without knowledge,” that’s a civil infraction just like speeding or careless driving. If the officer writes the ticket “with knowledge,” that’s a criminal offense that is punishable by jail.
The way your case is resolved will have a huge impact on the DMV side of things. You can get either a withhold of adjudication or an adjudication of guilt for the civil or the criminal offense after you enter a plea. If you receive a withhold of adjudication or an adjudication of guilt on a criminal offense, it will count as a major traffic offense in the eyes of the DMV. An adjudication of guilt on a civil driving while license suspended offense also counts as a major traffic offense for DMV purposes.
If you receive any three major offenses within a period of five years, the DMV will label you a “habitual traffic offender” and will suspend your license for a period of five years. For a driving while license suspended sentence, the only way to avoid that major traffic offense designation is to get a withhold of adjudication on a civil offense.
Your Clearwater driving while license suspended lawyer at Hersem Law has handled hundreds of these types of cases and will fight for your charge to either be dismissed, amended to an offense that does not count toward habitualization, or reduced to a civil infraction with a withhold of adjudication. That will save you on both the court and DMV side of things.
Why Did My License Get Suspended in the First Place?
If you’ve been charged with driving with a suspended or revoked license, you may find yourself wondering how you ended up here. Florida law provides for various scenarios that could lead to a driver’s license suspension. Here are a few examples:
- Not paying a traffic ticket
- Habitually committing traffic offenses
- Having a civil judgment against you
- Getting a DUI
- Failing to appear in court
- Having no insurance
- Getting too many driving points within a certain amount of time
These are just a few of the situations that could lead to a license suspension. For example, some criminal convictions can come with a license suspension. Whether you’re facing a driving while license suspended charge or a criminal or traffic charge that could lead to a license suspension, a Clearwater suspended license attorney at Hersem Law can help.
Contact a Suspended License Lawyer in Clearwater
At Hersem Law, we understand how stressful it can be to get charged with driving on a suspended license. Don’t give up. You have options, and a lawyer from Hersem Law can help you understand them.
If you’re ready to discuss your case before working with a Clearwater suspended license lawyer at our firm, call 813-251-7291 or fill out the online contact form at the bottom of this page.
